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;. TBE fflSTORY OF 



SUMPTER 



,,^ An Inside History of the Affairs of ^ 
J 860 and J 86 J, and the Events ;^ 
^ which brougfht on the Rebellion -1^ 



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THE HISTORY OF THE FALL 



OF 



Fort Sumpter 



BEING AN INSIDE HISTORY OF THE AFFAIRS IN SOUTH CAROLINA 

AND WASHINGTON, 1 860-1, AND THE CONDITIONS AND 

EVENTS IN THE SOUTH WHICH BROUGHT 

ON THE REBELLION 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR 



0> 



■«.\ 



SAM'L W. '.CRAWFORD 

>t 
THE SURGEON STATIONED AT FORT SUMPTER, LATER 
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAI,, U. S. A. 



j^ ^-c St t ^%X 



ILLUSTRATED 



2nd COPY, \ ; V 

1898. y. 

TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 



4697 



Copyright, 1887 

BY 

S. W. CRAWFORD 



Copyright, i89# $ , 

BY 

FRANCIS P. HARPER 



1 



\ 



PREFACE. 



A TRAGIC story is easily told. Battle pictures are not hard 
to paint with words or brush. It is more difficult to trace with 
accuracy the beginning of revolutionary rhovements, for these 
are from their very nature secret, and hidden from the common 
view, and often the more carefully concealed in proportion to 
their importance. It has been my pleasure and my purpose to 
seek into these hidden things. In these pages I have undertaken 
•to touch the spring of a fresh impulse, and to unfold the story of 
those events which led to the great national struggle between the 
North and the South in the war for the union of the States. I 
had a singular introduction to the scenes which ushered in the 
mighty conflict. It was this: 

" Adjutant-General's Office, 
"Washington, September 7, i860. 
"To Assistant-Surgeon S. W. Crawford, U. S. A., 

"Newport, R. I. 
' ' The Secretary of War directs that you proceed forthwith to 
Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, and report for duty to the com- 
manding ofKicer of that station. Answer. 

" Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
" W. A. NicoLS, 

'^ Adjufant-General/' 

The manner of transmitting this command was unusual. In 
those early days the telegraph was not always used for the ordi- 
nary business of the War Department. The imperative terms of 
the one I had just received added to my appreciation of its 
importance. At the moment of its reception I was at breakfast 
with some friends at Newport, R. I., where I was enjoying 
a short respite from frontier service. Leaving the table at 
once, I was soon on my way to Charleston. As I journeyed, 



VI PREFACE. 

there was time for earnest reflection as to the cause which had sd 
suddenly interrupted my visit and sent me to the far South in a 
sickly season. The heat was intense, and seemed to grow more 
and more oppressive after we passed the Potomac. Our train had 
reached South Carolina, and was crossing the Santee River. I 
had fallen into a reverie, when I was aroused by a conversation 
directly behind me. The words spoken gave me my first intima- 
tion of the emergency that had called me so suddenly from my 
vacation. The stranger said : 

" There is no use denying it, and the papers cannot suppress 
the facts. The yellow fever is in Charleston, for the doctor at 
that fort in the harbor has just died of it." 

The speaker was a typical Southerner, and he spoke with a 
good deal of emphasis. So I was on my way to take the place 
of an officer of my corps who had died at his post, in attendance, 
possibly, on an epidemic of yellow fever. My position at the 
moment was that of an officer of the medical staff of the army, 
with the rank of captain of cavalry, and I was now called upon 
to face new responsibilities. I approached them with grave 
apprehensions. 

It was after dark when the train reached the city near which 
I was to be stationed. The streets were almost deserted, and I 
found my way to the chief hotel with some difficulty, to find few 
signs of life there. A rrther dogmatic clerk and a sleepy negro 
were the only persons on duty. The clerk suggested, as I regis- 
tered my name: 

" You are an officer of the army to be stationed in this harbor 
—No?" 

I replied in the affirmative. ' 

" Where have you come from ? " 

"From Newport, R. I.," I replied. 

" Don't you think you had better go down to-night ?" he said 
to me, in rather a marked way. 

"It is five miles or more; what means of conveyance is 
there?" I asked. "I have never been here before in my life." 

"None, that I know of," he replied; " the steamers stop run- 
ning after 3 o'clock, but you might get a negro to row you 
over in a skiff. It is dangerous to stay here." 

"No," I replied, "that is out of the question. I shall remain 
over night here." 



PREPACE. Vll 

<'If you do," replied the clerk, "you will be one of the few 
people in this house." 

I remained all night. In the morning I proceeded to Fort 
Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island. I had only just entered the 
fort, when a message from the commanding officer summoned 
me to the bedside of the servant of his household. He had 
attended upon the deceased medical officer and was now stricken, 
as was believed, with the same disease. The general thought was 
that the officer himself had died of yellow fever. Recollection 
of the scourge of 1856, which so seriously affected Charleston, 
was still fresh in the minds of everyone. Fortunately there was 
no yellow fever. The epidemic changed to one of "broken 
bone fever," or "dengue." It affected the entire community, 
but without fatal results in any case. 

I was one of the few medical men in the vicinity. This 
brought me into friendly and rather close relations with the com- 
munity. Thus my being hurried away from Newport was turned 
to great account. This accident and sudden transfer to Fort 
Moultrie gave me a favorable opportunity of noting, studying 
and commenting upon the social and political phases of the 
secession movement, just as it began to take shape immediately 
after Mr. Lincoln's election. 

At this distance from the mighty events of those days, the 
value of the associations I was fortunate enough to have with 
those who were planning the first strokes of disunion can readily 
be appreciated. The records are uniformly silent upon most of 
these grave events. The files of the War Department, in the 
letters and reports of Major Anderson, and in the admirable and 
almost daily communications and journal of Captain J. G. Foster, 
the senior engineer, contain a wellnigh complete record of the 
events in their special military relations to Forts Moultrie and 
Sumter. But any connected record of the great political compli- 
cations, decisions and actions that influenced the Government is 
wholly wanting. There are few documents in the State Depart- 
ment, or in any of the others, which give authentic information as 
to the minor details of the early features of the struggle with seces- 
sion. Cabinet councils keep no minutes. The only record of 
its action that can be reached is when some Cabinet officer 
defends before another generation matters which cannot be 
spoken of at the time of their occurrence. Much was done 



viil PREFACE. 

orally, and to such an extent was this carried that the important 
instructions of the Secretary of War to Major Anderson on the 
7th of December, i860, instructions involving to a greater extent 
than any other the question of peace or war to the country, were 
carried to him by Major Don Carlos Buell verbally. Not only 
executive officers, but whenever it could be done, statesmen and 
soldiers, seemed to avoid any record. Therefore it is that per- 
sonal observation and inquiry at the time becomes of such vital 
value in writing the history of the early hours of the controversy, 
which finally provoked civil war. 

Besides constant associations with leading Southern people in 
the city of Charleston during those days, I was in almost daily 
attendance upon the convention which passed the Ordinance of 
Secession, until its doors were closed to all but the members. I 
kept a general record of the events as they transpired, as far as 
it was possible for me to do so. I did it for the purpose of 
embodying at some future time, in such a narrative as this, the 
events which constituted so important an era in the history of the 
country. The story has never been told, save in fragments. 
Volumes have been written about the battles which followed the 
intellectual combat which provoked the war. Statesmen, philo- 
sophers and laymen have given utterance to much that occurred 
after the clash of arms began. But the connected story of the 
beginning, and a picture of what the combat was about, have never 
yet been presented in consecutive form. As the medical officer 
of Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter, I was brought into close 
relations with Major Anderson, and was a part of the beginning 
and end of our first combat with secession at Sumter. The 
Major often spoke to me of his anxieties, and of the difficulties 
which surrounded him. With him I saw the first and the last 
shot sent against that fort that aroused the country to war. 
Besides personal association with and a study of the secession 
movement at its very initiative, I have, through years of inquiry, 
at both the North and the South, reached documents and con- 
clusions of great importance. I have studied and here presented 
them with much care. We are far enough away from the preju- 
dices of that period to deal dispassionately with them. I have 
called my work "The Genesis of the Civil War," and advisedly. 
It is not intended to embrace a recital of the long train of those 
predisposing causes, which sprang into life at the formation of 



PREFACE. IX 

the Government and developed into a fatal antagonism with 
the growth of the nation, but rather those of an immediate and 
exciting nature, which, precipitated by the secession of South 
Carolina and proceeding unchecked in their course, finally from 
logical and irresistible conclusion plunged the country into war. 

In a spirit of what I have meant to be judicial fairness, I 
have written ideas, stated facts and compiled documents in these 
pages, to which, with every consciousness of the imperfection of 
my work, I invite the best judgment of my countrymen. 

S. W. Crawford, 
Brevet Alajor-General, U. S. A. 

University of Pennsylvania, 
Philadelphia, April 12, 1887. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface v 

CHAPTER I. 

United States Property in the Harbor of Charleston— Description of 
the Forts and their Armament — Their Defenseless Condition — 
Social Relations between the Officers a ad the People of Charleston 

CHAPTER II. 

Extra session of Legislature to appoint Presidential electors — Governor 
Gist's message urging action, in prospect of political change — 
Action of Legislature — Caucus — Feeling in the State— Action of 
United States Judge Magrath — Resignation of District- Attorney 
and Collector — Provides a bill for calling a Convention and to arm 
the State —Regular session of Legislature— Governor's messages 
and recommendations — Feeling in the State —Washington Light 
Infantry offer their services 9-20 

CHAPTER III. 

Political situation at Washington— The Cabinet — Their individual 
political views — The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Cobb, deter- 
mines to withdraw from public life in case of Mr. Lincoln's election 
— Views of General Cass, the Secretary of State — ^Judge Black — 
Mr, Holt, the Secretary of War— Mr Floyd — The President 
determines to reinforce the Forts in Charleston Harbor — Action 
of Assistant Secretary of State Trescot — Southern Members of 
Cabinet consult — Assistant Secretary of State writes, asking 
Governor Gist to write to the President — Reply of the Governor 
— President sends a copy of his Message by the Assistant Secretary 
to Governor Gist, who is uninfluenced by it — South Carolina dele- 
gation arrive in Washington -The arrival of the Assistant Secre- 
tary with the President's Message, anticipated by telegram from 
Washington 21-35 



Xi'l CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

President recognizes condition of things -His message of 3d December 
i860— Its reception by his Cabinet -Resignation of Secretary of 
the Treasury, Mr. Cobb, who is succeeded by Mr. Thomas, of 
Maryland — Effort to preserve the mihtary status in Charleston 
Harbor — South Carolina delegation wait upon the President — 
Their interview — Written statement left with the President — 
Understanding of the delegation, of what was accomplished — 
Their impression — Explanation of Messrs. Miles and Keitt to the 
South Carolina Convention, of the understanding after Anderson's 
movement to Fort Sumter — Governor of South Carolina claims 
that the Government at Washington was pledged — Major Ander- 
son not informed of it — Return of Assistant Secretary of State 
from Charleston — His interview with the President— General 
Cass, Secretary of State, urges reinforcement of the forts— Presi- 
dent declines — Resignation of the Secretary, who seeks to with 
draw it — Declined by the President, who tenders to Judge Blaci:, 
the Attorney-General, the position of Secretary of State 36-44 

CHAPTER V, 

South Carolina Convention meets at Columbia — Organizes — Speech of 
President Jamison — Character of the Convention — Its composition 
— Relations to previous conventions— Committee to draft an ordi- 
nance of Secession appointed— Adjournment to Charleston — 
Impatience of the people — Assembles at Institute Hall — Enthusi- 
asm — Session of the Convention — Its proceedings bearing upon 
the public property in the harbor — Various resolutions adopted 
with reference to the Government at Washington — Committees 
appointed to report ordinance for Convention to form a Southern 
Confederacy— Chancellor Inglis, of Chesterfield, reports Ordinance 
of Secession — Passed unanimously — Governor and Legislature 
invited to be present at Institute Hall to witness the signing of 
ordinance — Great enthusiasm as procession passed — Hall crowded 
— Ordinance signed by every member — President announces the 
State of South Carolina an independent commonwealth — Quiet 
adjournment— Excitement of the people 45-55 

CHAPTER VI. 

Colonel Gardiner at Moultrie — Makes requisition for Ordnance Stores 
— Issue made — Excitement in consequence— Telegrams to Wash- 
ington — Relieved by Major Anderson — Sketch of a letter of 
Anderson to War Department, 24th of November — Importance of 
this letter — Force under Anderson — Work going on— Attempt to 
enroll workmen — Correspondence with War Department on the 
subject 56-67 



CONTENTS. xiii 



CHAPTER VII, 

Letter of "War Department declining to reinforce — Feeling in Charles- 
ton that forts would be taken — Anderson's views — Letter to R. 
N. Gourdinand to his rector at Trenton, N. J. — Sand-hills around 
the Fort— Refusal of the Government to allow him to reduce them 
— Importance of Sumter — Instructions of War Department to An- 
derson by Major Buell — Substance of his interview with Anderson 
— Buell'S order given to Anderson - Criticism on it from Buell him- 
self — Further instructions from President not to make a des- 
perate defense— Force of engineer workmen sent to Pinckney — 
Muskets sent to Pinckney and Sumter on Foster's requisition — 
Excitement in consequence — Action in Charleston and Washing- 
ton — Muskets returned 68-78 

CHAPTER VIII. 

F. W. Pickens elected Governor of South Carolina — His character and 
history — Sends Major D. H. Hamilton, confidential messenger, to 
the President — His letter demanding Fort Sumter — Interview with 
President — Assistant Secretary of State interferes — Consults Sena- 
tors Davis and Slidell — Letter withdrawn— President sends Gen- 
eral Gushing to Governor Pickens — Failure of his mission - Gov- 
ernor establishes the guard-boat between Moultrie and Sumter — 
His orders — Press of the State urge the seizure of the forts 79-91 

CHAPTER IX. 

Work pushed on at Moultrie — Anderson dissatisfied with flanking 
defenses —Reports to Washington— Urges importance of Sumter — 
Requests permission to occupy it — Armament of Moultrie — Its 
defenses — Aggressive feeling of the people— Armament of Castle 
Pinckney — Work upon Fort Sumter— Ready for its guns — Guard- 
boat appears, and report made to Washington — Anderson's orders 
— His understanding of them — Not informed of any understand- 
ing — His private letters — Change in Anderson's manner — Deter- 
mines to move his command to Fort Sumter 92-101 

CHAPTER X. 

Major Anderson moves his command from Moultrie to Sumter on 
December 26, i860 — Excitement produced — Crowds come to the 
Island — Threats in consequence of movement — Governor sends 
Commissioners to Major Anderson — Orders Major Anderson 
to return — His refusal — Details of the interview — Commissioners 
return to Charleston — Raising the flag on Fort Sumter — The 
ceremonies I02-i rz. 



xiv CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
CHAPTER XI. 

Seizure and occupancy of the forts in the harbor by the State — Lieu- 
tenant Meade at Castle Pinckney — United States Custom House 
occupied by the State — Lieutenant Snyder sent on a special mis- 
sion to the Governor — Interview — Memorandum of the Governor 
— Colonel Huger^State guard over the arsenal — Seizure and 
occupancy of the arsenal — Seizure of Fort Johnson — Location of 
sites for batteries to control the entrance to the harbor — Star of 
the West battery located — The Governor reports his action to 
the Convention 1 13-175 

CHAPTER XII. 

Restricted means of the garrison — Anderson assumes definite position 
— His opinions — Does not now ask for reinforcement — His letter 
of January 6 —Reasons for his movement to Sumter — Personal 
views in his private letters to a friend in Charleston, and to his 
former rector at Trenton, N.J. — Action of the engineer laborers — 
Increased activity in the harbor — Lights put out — Accidental 
notice of sailing of the Star of the West — Large force of workmen 
landed— Arming of fort pushed rapidly on — Short rations— Offi- 
cers go to Fort Moultrie for their private effects — Threatened 
with arrest — Return to Sumter — West Point graduates sent to 
assist the men — Forts permanently occupied — Action of Board of 
Pilots- Governor issues proclamation forbidding entrance of any 
vessel bearing aid or supplies to the garrison — His instructions to 
his officers at Moultrie and the arsenal 126-139 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Washington— Effect of Anderson's movement— False report of rein- 
forcement — Telegram of Governor — Reply of Secretary of War — 
Commissioners appointed by Convention — Arrive in Washhigton 
— President appoints day to receive them — Arrangement made by 
agent of South Carolina — News of Anderson's movement changes 
the relations — Statement in detail of agent of the State — President 
urged to restore the status — He declines — Anderson's movement 
without his orders— Secretary of War telegraphs to Anderson — 
Anderson's reply confirming report— President's action— Cabinet 
convened — Discussion — Copy of order by Major Buell sent for — 
South Carolina Commissioners— Interview with the President — 
They transmit their letter of authority from the Convention — 
Demand explanation of Anderson's movement — President receives 
Commissioners— Promises reply — President submits draft of letter 
to his Cabinet, who are divided in opinion— Northern members 
threaten resignation — No conclusion reached— Secretary of War 
Floyd tenders his resignation — Correspondence with the Presi- 



CONTENTS. XV 



dent— Secretary of State, Judge Black, determines to resign if 
letter is sent — President informed — Interview with Judge Black — 
Question of personal honor urged by the President — Commits 
draft of letter to Judge Black, who comments upon it— President's 
letter to Commissioners— Their action — Mr. Trescot, the agent 
of the State, interviews the President — Subsequently sees Mr. 
Hunter, of Virginia— Offers through him that the State would 
withdraw from the forts if the President would withdraw Ander- 
son from Sumter — President declines — Attorney-General Stanton's 
opinion — President yields, and sides with the Union sentiment. . . 140-161 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Lieutenant-General Scott — His character and relations to the adminis- 
tration— Confidence of the people in him — His "Views" volun- 
teered to the Secretary of War — Their peculiar character — 
Published without consent or knowledge of the President— Presi- 
dent's surprise — Regards the Views as likely to be used to excite 
the people in the cotton States — No practicable plan proposed — 
President believed it impossible to garrison all the forts — His duty, 
as he viewed it— General Scott comes to Washington — Secretary 
of War does not agree with him — President's policy in contradis- 
tinction to that of General Scott — Feeling in the country that Fort 
Sumter should be relieved — Propositions from private sources — 
General Scott persists in his design and recommendation to rein- 
force Fort Sumter — President agrees and General Scott objects to 
plan proposed — Later, again urges reinforcements to Sumter — 
Feeling of the people — Voluntary expeditions offered— President's 
determination to send reinforcements in a ship of war overruled — 
Finally determines to send an officer to Anderson with certain 
inquiries —General Scott recommends a mercantile steamer — Star 
of the West substituted for United States sloop of war Brooklyn — 
Preparation for her voyage — Meantime, Anderson reports himself 
safe — Sailing of the Star of the West — Details of the voyage and 
arrival 162-186 

CHAPTER XV, 

Council of the officers upon the firing upon the Star of the West — ' 
. Their individual opinions — Major Anderson writes to the Gover- 
nor — His threat to close the harbor to all vessels — Sends Lieuten- 
ant Hall, under a white flag, with letter to Governor — Scenes in 
Charleston— Reply of Governor, who avows the act — Council of 
officers reconvened — Anderson determines to send messenger to 
Washington — Lieutenant Talbot and the wr-'ter his messengers to 
. Governor informing him of his change of purpose — Safeguard 
given to Talbot through the State —Governor sends messengers 



XVI CONTENTS. 



to Major Anderson, asking delivery of Fort Sumter to State- 
Interview — Governor's letter— Officers, reassembled in Council, 
reject the demand of Governor — Statement of messenger —Reply 
of Anderson to his letter— Upon Anderson's suggestion, matter 
referred to Washington —Lieutenant Hall selected as messenger 
by Anderson, Hon. J. W. Hayne by the Governor — His special 
instructions — Departs for Washington 187-197 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Preparations for defense actively pushed on— Guns mounted — Ander- 
son reports tifty-one guns in position on 21st January — Heavy 
Columbiads mounted as mortars on the parade — Scarcity of 
material felt —Arrangements made to receive and transmit the 
mails — Four hulks of vessels sunk in the ship channel — Want of 
fresh provisions — State Secretary of War sends supply voluntarily 
— Provisions returned by Anderson — Erroneous statements made 
— Non-payment of contractor, cause of interruption of supply — 
Deficiency in small stores -Many workmen leave the fort — Efforts 
to dissatisfy those who remained — Return of Lieutenant Talbot 
from Washington — Approbation of the officials encourages the 
men — Anderson's forbearance to tire upon the Star of the IVest 
battery fully approved by the President — Letter of Secretary of 
War Holt — Not the purpose of the Government to reinforce him 
at present — If necessary, they would be sent upon his application 
—Presence of the women and children embarrass the garrison — 
Anderson applies for permission from the Governor to send them 
to the North— Permission granted — Women and children depart 
— Relations between the Government and the State more 
clearly defined — Governor assembles an Ordnance Board — Objec- 
tions made — Recommendations; lines for defense— Sites for batter- 
ies suggested — Great activity displayed — Lighthouse at Morris 
Island removed — Anderson's caution against attempt of friends to 
throw in supplies — Progress of enemy's work reported by Captain 
Foster — Anderson reports his diminished supplies — -The envoy of 
the Governor opens negotiations with the Government 198-212 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Secretary of War J. B. Floyd — His relations to the President — His 
early position — Sympathy with the South — The De Groot claim 
—Action of the Secretary — Claim refused — Abstraction of the 
Indian Trust bonds— Substitution for them of bills drawn on 
Secretary of War— Violation of the law — House of Representatives 
appoints a committee to investigate and report, at instance of 
Secretary of Interior — Exonerates that officer— Secretary of War 
implicated —President requests his resignation — Resigns on 29th 
December — Previous order of Secretary to transfer heavy ord- 



CONTENTS. xvii 



nance to Southern forts yet unfinished — Excitement in Pittsburg, 
Pa. - President notified— Countermands the order — Transfer of 
small-arms to the South in 1859 — Investigation by House of 
Representatives — Committee on MUitary Affairs relieve him from 
any criminal intent — Secretary of War, upon return to Richmond, 
claims credit for the act — Subsequent appointment in the Confed- 
erate army 213-217 

CHAPTER XVni. 

Envoy of Governor of South Carolina arrives in Washington — Informal 
and unofficial interview with the President — Informs the Presi- 
dent of his mission verbally — Action of Southern Senators — Their 
communication— Envoy complies with Iheir request, and with- 
holds his communication temporarily — Proposes arrangement 
with the President, to whom this correspondence is sent — Presi- 
dent's reply through his ^Secretary of War — Able letters of Secre- 
tary, who makes known the purpose of the President — President 
declines to make any arrangement — Will reinforce Major Ander- 
son, should he require it — Senators again address the envoy, and 
oppose any collision upon the part of the State until their States 
were ready — Fort Sumter as ^'■property "—Correspondence with 
President sent to Governor Pickens — Reply of his Secretary of 
State, Judge Magrath — Reviews and criticizes it — Insists upon 
knowing the position of the Government — Demands surrender of 
Fort Sumter — President's reply to be at once communicated, when 
Governor would decide upon his course — Envoy to return 218-225 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Envoy Hayne presents his letter to the President — Subsequently 
addresses President directly— Comments upon the letter of Secre- 
tary of War -Receives further instructions, and communicates as 
special envoy — Offers to make compensation for Fort Sumter — 
Comments upon the President's letter to the Southern Senators — 
Justifies the firing upon ^^ Star of the Jf^j/— Able response of 
Secretary of War for the President — Fort Sumter as ^^ property " — 
Answers propositions of envoy — Right of "eminent domain " can- 
not be asserted — No constitutional right in President to " cede or 
surrender ' ' Fort Sumter — Right to send reinforcements ' ' unques- 
tionable " — President will send them, if necessary — Fort held as 
property and for no unfriendly purpose— Envoy replies directly to 
the President, and leaves Washington — His letter — The President 
declines to receive it — Letter returned to Colonel Hayne by mail . 226-234 

CHAPTER XX. 

President embarrassed by Major Anderson's "truce" — Determines 
to respect it— Considers that his instructions should have guided 



Xviii CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Major Anderson— Upon departure of the envoy, new expedition re- 
solved upon — Members of the Cabinet interested in relief to Sumter 
— Letter of Judge Black, Secretary of State, to Lieutenant-General 
Scott— General Scott does not respond — Later, Judge Black ad- 
dresses the President ; reviews the situation— Urges decision of 
some policy in regard to Sumter — Ex-President John Tyler, a 
Commissioner from the Peace Convention of Virginia, arrives in 
Washington — President sends his Secretary of State, in anticipa- 
tion of his visit, to call upon him — The interview — President 
declines to become a party to proposed agreement — Transmits 
message to Congress on January 28, with the resolutions of the 
Virginia Convention — Congress ignores his recommendations — 
Subject dropped — Commissioner to South Carolina presents Vir- 
ginia resolutions to the Legislature^Coldly received — Governor 
Pickens opposed — General Assembly declines to enter into negoti- 
ations — Commissioners continue their efforts — Ex -President Tyler 
telegraphs to Governor Pickens — Explains position of the Presi- 
dent — Reply of Governor — Reports of interviews to relieve Sum- 
ter — Reports also of its immediate seizure by the State— Governor 
telegraphs to Montgomery, asking that a commander-in-chief be 
appointed — Meeting of Cabinet in Washington to determine upon 
plan of relief to Sumter— Details of plan — Additional proposition 
of Captain G. V. Fox — Its detail — General Scott approves prepar- 
ations made — President changes his mind —He determines to 
respect the appeal made by Virginia — Will not precipitate a crisis 
— Astonishment and disappointment of General Scott — His subse- 
quent letter to the incoming President — President Buchanan's 
statement— Captain Fox again urges his plan 235-251 

CHAPTER XXI. 

President Buchanan's views as to the coercive powers of the Govern- 
ment — Congress meets— President's message of December 2 — 
Review of the political situation — Recommendations — Denies any 
danger to Southern rights — No right as President to decide rela- 
tions between Government and State — Secession not the right of a 
State— Congress no constitutional right to coerce State attempting 
secession— Recommends "explanatory amendment," recognizing 
property in slaves and their protection in the Territories — Mes- 
sage disappoints Southern leaders — Congress neglects to act — 
President sends special message on January 8 — Reiterates his 
position and views — Reasons for not reinforcing Major Anderson 
— ^Jefferson Davis's opinion of the message— Senate refuse to con- 
firm Collector for Charleston, S. C. — Crittenden amendment — 
Endorsed by the President— Amended by wholly different resolu 
tion — Original proposition defeated— Peace Convention of Virginia 
— Efforts to effect a settlement— Scries of amendments offered — 



CONTENTS. xlx 



Propositions made — Mr. Crittenden adopts a proposition in prefer- 
. ence to his own — Senate rejects it — Cotton States pass ordinances 
of Secession — Seize the public property — Congress relies upon 
time and the incoming administration 252-258 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Delegates from cotton States meet at Montgomery, Ala. — Form a pro- 
visional Congress — Executive, legislative and judicial departments 
formed — The United States of America "a foreign country"— 
The establishment and organization of the "Government " — Acts 
passed — Assumes control of the "questions and difficulties" 
existing with the General Government — Nature of the Govern- 
ment — General Convention not competent to exigency — Declares 
itself a provisional Government at first— Exercises all power — 
Governor Pickens seeks counsel of Jefferson Davis— His reply — 
Writes again on the 20th of January — His letter — Governor 
Pickens consults the Governor of Georgia — His reply — Threat- 
ened attack upon Sumter — Mr. Robert Toombs urges against the 
attack, except with sanction of "our joint Government" — Reply 
of Governor Pickens — Recommends the appointment of a comman- 
der-in-chief — Counsels that the "Congress" should indicate 
jurisdiction — His views and arguments — Thinks on 12th of Febru- 
ary that he is prepared to take Fort Sumter — Asks if he shall 
await orders, or act himself — Jefferson Davis — Provisional Presi- 
dent of new Government— Appoints a general officer for Charles- 
ton—Governor applies for a "skilled engineer " — Captain Whit- 
ing sent — His adverse report— Work at Cummings Point pushed 
steadily on 250-272 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Salutes upon Washington's birthday in Charleston Harbor — Scenes ii> 
Washington — President countermands order for parade of troops 
— Representative Sickles protests — Interview with the President 
at the War Department — President yields — Parade takes place- 
Makes explanation to Ex-President Tyler — His letter — Major G. 
T. Beauregard selected as Brigadier-General of the new Confed- 
eracy — His character and history — Proceeds to Charleston — 
Makes thorough inspection— Unfavorable result — Absence of 
systematic organization and control— Operations around Sumter 
changed— Detached batteries located on shores of harbor — Fort 
Sumter to be enveloped by a circle of fire — Defenses of Fort 
Moultrie rebuilt— Chief Engineer's accurate observations and 
reports — His letter to his chief — Major Anderson clearly reports 
liis condition, and the work going on around him 273-281 



XX CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

(.'lose of President Buchanan's administration — Condition of the 
country- Anderson's letter of February 28 — Its character— Esti- 
mate of himself and officers — Relieving force necessary— Letter 
delivered to President on 4th of March — Transmitted to incoming 
President by Secretary of War Holt on 5th ot March — Resume of 
President Buchanan's course in dealing with the seceded States — 
His failure to recognize the real condition of affairs —His policy 
and action— Secretary Holt's letter accompanying Anderson's 
communication — Misled by Anderson's statements — Believed 
Anderson safe — Line of policy not to reinforce, unless called upon 
by Anderson, adhered to — Anderson's previous report— Main 
statements of his condition —Impossible to relieve him without 
large force— Anderson's views in private correspondence — Import- 
ant letter to a Rhode Island correspondent— Good condition of 
the garrison — Annoyances from without— Irritation of the people 
— Floating battery — Anderson asks for instructions in regard to 
it — Reply of Secretary of War — Destruction of the temporary 
wooden buildings on the parade — Ammunition furnished to the 
batteries— Rearrangement of the guns — Gorge protected and 
strengthened — Anderson mines the wharf 282-298 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Work at Sumter — Reports of Anderson and Captain Foster -Work at 
Cummings Point — Firing for range from channel batteries - Foster 
reports batteries around — Inaugural of President Lincoln — War- 
like construction placed upon it — General Beauregard assumes 
command— Urged by Montgomery Government to push the work 
— Reports of evacuation of Fort Sumter— Confederate Secretary 
of War informs Beauregard — Apprehension as to mines — Cor- 
respondence of Beauregard and Anderson — Terms required — 
Anderson "deeply hurt" at the conditions imposed — Wigfall 
establishes recruiting station in Baltimore for the Confederacy — 
Adjutant-General Samuel Cooper, U. S. A., resigns his commission 
' — Takes similar position in the Confederacy — Peace Convention in 
session in Virginia — Defeats resolution of secession — President 
Lincoln determines to confer with some prominent Union member 
— ^J. B. Baldwin selected —Propositions said to have been made — 
Denials —Controversy inconsequence — Baldwin returns — Conven- 
tion passes the Ordinance of Secession — President's proclamation 
—Both sides prepare for the inevitable struggle 299-313 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Confederate Congress authorizes appointment ot three Commissioners 
to Washington —Messrs. Crawford, Roman and Forsyth selected — 
Their instructions — Commissioner Crawford arrives in Washington 



CONTENTS. Xxi 

PAGE 

— " Fully satisfied " that to approach Mr. Buchanan would be 
disadvantageous — Commissioner reports to the Confederate Secre- 
tary of State — Senator W. H. Seward to be the new Secretary of 
State— His peaceful policy — Inauguration of Mr. Lincoln— Com- 
missioner reports to his Government— Commissioner Forsyth 
arrives — Report of the two Commissioners — Senator R. M. T. 
Hunter — Propositions for delay made to Commissioner — Authori- 
ties at Montgomery consider a delay a doubtful policy — Evacua- 
tion of Sumter to be insisted upon — Secretary of State declines to 
receive the Commissioners — Associate Justice Campbell offers to 
mediate — Associate Justice Nelson also interests himself— Question 
of the evacuation ot Sumter — Associate Justice Campbell's memo- 
randa—Further instructions from Montgomery — Warlike arma- 
ments—Volunteers called out at Charleston — Memorandum of 
Secretary of State — Its effect— The Commissioners leave Washing- 
ton— Judge Campbell to Secretary of State — Writes to the Presi- 
dent — Sumter fired upon 314-345 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Anderson's estimate of force necessary to relieve him — Referred to 
General Scott — His opinion — Plan of relief of Captain Fox — 
President calls for written opinions of his • Cabinet in regard to 
Sumter — Views of the Secretary of State — Opinions of the Secre- 
tary of War, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the Treasury — 
Opinion of Brigadier-General Totten, Chief Engineer — General 
Scott changes his views — Abandonment of Fort Sumter a " sure 
necessity "—His Memorandum for the Secretary of War — Francis 
P. Blair — His interview with the President — Letter of the Post- 
master-General — Speculations upon the opinions of the Cabinet — 
Secretary Chase corrects statement of his position — His letters — 
Final position of the Secretary of War ... 346-368 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

President desires fiu"ther information from Major Anderson — Captain 
Fox sent as messenger — Arrives at Sumter — His interview with 
Anderson — Statement of provisions given to him — Visit of Ward 
H. Lamon — Professed object, removal of command — Provisions 
being rapidly exhausted — Anderson asks instructions — Firing of 
batteries upon ice schooner attempting to enter harbor — Ander- 
son sends an officer to Governor— Result -Important despatch 
of Commissioner Crawford — Anderson writes to Washington — 
Despondent feeling — Important communication of Secretary of 
War— Powerful battery suddenly unmasked on Sullivan's Island- 
Effect upon Anderson —Captain Fox accused of breach of faith — 
Charleston authorities seize the mails — Important despatch of 
Anderson taken— His letter 369-387 



Xxii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

South Carolina Convention still in session — All resolutions referring to 
Sumter laid on the table — Governor requested to call for volun- 
teers—Military interests transferred to Confederate Government 

Convention adjourns April lo -Important telegram from Commis- 
sioner Crawfoi-d — Anderson alarmed and impressed by it — His 
earnest letter to his Government — Asks for instructions— Confed- 
erate Secretary of War to Beauregard — Conflicting telegrams from 
Washington to Charleston — Lieutenant Talbot arrives in Wash- 
ington — President gives notice lo Governor Pickens of his inten- 
tion to provision Fort Sumter, and to reinforce if resisted — Talbot, 
with Mr. Chew, of State Department, goes to Charleston — The 
notice — Read to Governor in presence of Beauregard — Messen- 
gers' abrupt return — Their journey impeded — Volunteers called 
for — Anderson reports — Feeling in Fort Sumter — Floating battery 
in position —Provisions exhausted— Boat with white flag ap- 
proaches the work , 388-400 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Affairs at Fort Pickens — Quasi truce established — Chief Engineer 
Totten — Communication to the War Department in regard to 
Sumter and Pickens — The President not yet determined upon 
his course — Pressure upon him — Finally determines — Orders 
troops on Brooklyn to be landed at Pickens — Commanding officer 
refuses, on account of "truce" — "Provisional expedition " pre- 
pared— Its detail — United States steamship Powhatan — Her 
arrival — Her preparation to refit for sea — Determination to send 
provisional expedition — Other expeditions under authority of the 
President — Its detail — Action of Secretary of State — His interview 
with General Scott — Result — Lieutenant D. D. Porter selected to 
command Powhatan— ^^cr^i orders — Interview with the Presi- 
dent — Orders to Porter — Difficulties in procuring funds — Attempt 
to detain the Powhatan— Y\nd\\y sails — Arrives at Pensacola — 
Result of the Expedition— Fort Pickens supplied and reinforced — 
Provisional expedition sails for Charleston Harbor — Its late arri- 
val — Fort Sumter bombardment — Absence of the tugs — Expedi- 
tion unsuccessful — President's letter to Captain Fox 401-420 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Effect of notice of President upon authorities in Charleston — Their 
action — Reply of Montgomery Government— Demand for the 
immediate surrender of the fort — Anderson's reply — Verbal state- 
ment to the messenger — Reported to Montgomery — Reply of 
Confederate Secretary of War — Anderson declines its terms — 
Bombardment opened on morning of the 12th of April — Descrip- 
tion of the fire of the batteries— Maintained all day — Mortar fire 



CONTENTS. XXUl 

PAGE 

all night — Sumter opens fire at 7 o'clock — Service of its batteries 
— Effect of the enemy's fire upon the fort — Fleet arrives — Men 
withdrawn from the batteries at night 421-433 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Mortar firing through the night — Anticipating the fleet — Heavy firing 
opened in the morning — Fort Sumter replies " early and spite- 
fully " — Scarcity of cartridges — Fire restricted in consequence — 
Quarters set on fire by shells and hot shot — Increased fire of the 
batteries — Fort threatened with explosion — Magazines closed — 
Flames spread — Woodwork consumed — Flag-staff shot away — 
Flag restored at once — Colonel Wigfall crosses in small boat 
from Cummings Point — His visit unauthorized — Enters the fort — 
Interview with Major Anderson — Terms of evacuation proposed 
— Major Anderson consents — Wigfall departs — White flag raised 
— Three aides of Confederate general come to fort under white 
flag — Interview with Anderson — Aides return to Charleston — 
Wigfall 's visit without knowledge of Confederate general — 
"Formal and final terms" presented — Anderson accepts — Con- 
dition of the fort — Effect of the fire upon it — Casualties slight — 
Four men wounded — Salute to the flag permitted — Serious explo- 
sion, and result — State troops take possession. Captain Ferguson, 
aide-de-camp to commanding general, raises Confederate flag 
over the works — Garrison transferred to the steamer Baltic, which 
leaves for the North 434-448 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Return of the garrison of Fort Sumter to New York — Their separation 
for service — Their individual careers in the war — Present condi- 
tion of the fort — Wholly changed in appearance and in its arma- 
ment — Main defense of the harbor 449-458 

APPENDIX I. 
Sources of information . 459 

APPENDIX II. 
General Beauregard's Order No. g 464 

APPENDIX III. 
Extract from President Lincoln's Message, 1861 466 

APPENDIX IV. 
Official Report of killed and wounded 470 

APPENDIX V. 

General Anderson's Letter to Hon. E. M. Stanton 47i 

Index 473 



THE 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR 

THE STORY OF SUMTER 
1860-61 



CHAPTER I. 



United States Property in the Harbor of Charleston — Description of the Forts 
and their Armament — Their Defenseless Condition — Social Relations be- 
tween the Officers and the People of Charleston. 

The summer of i860 found the United States in possession 
of certain public property within the territorial limits of South 
Carolina. It had been acquired and the jurisdiction yielded by 
the Legislature of the State in the usual way. There was no 
special contract between the Federal Government and this Com- 
monwealth, nor any feature which distinguished the legal relations 
between them from those maintained with the other States of the 
Union. She had accepted the Constitution of 1787 as her sister 
States had done, and, notwithstanding the political agitations of 
which she had been the peculiar theatre at various crises, the 
Constitution of the United States and the laws passed in pursu- 
ance thereof had been, up to the time when this narrative begins, 
the supreme laws of the land there, as they had been elsewhere. 
The military property of the United States in and about the 
harbor of Charleston, the scene of the events with which we are 
principally concerned, consisted of the forts in the harbor and a 
large arsenal within the city limits. The latter was surrounded 
by four acres of neatly kept grounds, and was in charge of a 
military storekeeper of ordnance, with fourteen enlisted men. Its 
stores consisted of over 22,000 stand of arms, besides heavy 
ordnance, with a variety of munitions and supplies, and were very 
valuable. Had they subsequently been within reach of the 



2 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

beleaguered garrison of Sumter, the story now to be written 
might have assumed a different aspect. 

Three forts with historic names guarded the entrance of the 
harbor of Charleston from the sea. They had been designed 
solely to meet invasion from abroad, and were constructed, in 
every particular, in suggestive indifference to the possibility of 
domestic insurrection or civil war. 

Castle Pinckney, a small round structure of brick, stood at 
the extremity of a sandy spit at the mouth of the Cooper River, 
three-quarters of a mile from the city of Charleston. It was 
occupied only by an ordnance sergeant and his family. Practi- 
cally, it had long been abandoned. Grass grew on its walks, its 
casemates had cracked here and there, and signs of neglect 
and decay were apparent on every side; but twenty-two heavy 
guns still stood upon its parapet,* and the old sergeant busied 
himself in keeping bright the lacquer upon the guns and round 
shot, and in trimmmg the harbor light that gleamed from its 
walls by night. 

Nearly four miles farther down, and ^\ght in the jaws of the 
channel, in its narrowest part, stood Fort Sumter, a large brick 
pentagonal fort, fifty feet in (ieight, with its faces making an 
angle at the salient on the channel front, and its flanks running 
perpendicularly to a gorge that formed its rear. It was unfinished, 
and without armament of any kind. A few heavy guns of old 
pattern lay in rows on the parade, amid dressed masonry and 
large stones and material for the completion of the work. One 
hundred and twenty workmen, under the charge of a lieutenant 
of engineers, were busy in the completion of the fort, under an 
appropriation of the Act of Congress of June, 1859. 

From its very origin Fort Sumter seemed destined to noto- 
riety. As early as 1805 the State of South Carolina had formally 
ceded " to the United States of America all the right, title and 
claim " of the State to Castle Pinckney, Forts Moultrie and John- 
son, as well as other " sites for the erection of forts " at the 
exposed parts of the State. f But it was not until 1827 that, 
impressed with the exposed condition of the harbor of Charles- 
ton, additional defenses were determined upon. The sea had 



* Four 42-pounders, fourteen 24-pounders, four 8-inch seacoast howitzers. 
Chief of Ordnance, December 21, i860. 

t Statutes at Large of South Carolina, Vol. V., p. 501. 



CONDITION OF THE DEFENSES OF CHARLESTON HARBOR. 3 



3 J- 




4 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL IVAk. 

encroached upon the site of Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, 
and it became necessary to look for other positions for defen- 
sive works. The shoal opposite Fort Moultrie was selected. 
Without consulting the State, experimental operations were begun 
upon the shoal on which the fort now stands, and a report, with a 
plan for a "casemated battery" for this shoal, was submitted by a 
board of United States engineers, and was approved by the Secre- 
tary of War (P. B. Porter) in 1828. This action, without their ad- 
vice or consent, at once aroused the Legislature of the State, and 
upon the 17th of December, 1834, the committee on Federal rela- 
tions of the House was instructed to inquire and report as to the 
work going on, and whether the navigation of the harbor, as well as 
" the interests of the good people of the State, might not be affected 
thereby." But the committee were " not able to ascertain by what 
authority the Federal Government assumed to erect the works " 
referred to, when the Legislature formally requested the Governor 
" to apply to the Executive Department of the United States Gov- 
ernment to ascertain by what authority such works are erected," 
and to report the correspondence to the Legislature.* Satisfactory 
explanations being made, the formal cession to the United States 
of all right, title and claim of South Carolina to the site of Sum- 
ter and the requisite quantity of adjacent territory was made on 
the 17th day of December, 1836. It was in 1829 that work was 
begun upon the fort; when finished, its armament was to consist 
of 146 guns of all calibres, and a war garrison of 650 men. 

Directly across the channel eastward, on the sandy beach of 
Sullivan's Island and near the sea, stood Fort Moultrie, a low 
water battery built of brick, sixteen feet high, with one tier of 
guns en barbette, some bearing directly upon the channel, that 
ran within short range of its walls. It enclosed an area of one 
and one-half acres. On its cramped parade were piles of balls 
and shells, and an old furnace for heating shot. In its rear, or 



* Reminiscences of South Carolina: Gen. W. G. De Saussure. 

Note, —When it was known that the General Government was working upon 
this shoal, with the prospect of occupying it, one WilHam Laval, a resident of 
Charleston, obtained a grant of it from the Legislature. The shoal was cov- 
ered at high tide, and thus became a part of the waterway of the harbor, and 
was not disposable to any one, nor could the State itself occupy it. It was 
soon discovered, therefore, that the grant to Laval was an error, and pro- 
ceedings had been instituted in the courts to revoke what was done, when the 
tormal cession took place. 



HISTORY AND ARMAMENT OF FORT MOULTRIE. 5 

gorge, two stories high, were its sally-port, its guard-house and 
its offices. On the left, of double stories, were the quarters for 
officers, and opposite were the barracks for the men. Its name 
and its association were dear to every Carolinian. It stood near 
the site of the old palmetto fort, where the troops of the State 
line repulsed the British fleet under Admiral Sir Peter Parker, on 
the 28th of June, 1776. Bearing the name of one of her most 
distinguished sons, every child in South Carolina had spelled the 
story and had grown up in the belief that that fort and its his- 
tory were peculiarly his own inheritance. Two companies of the 




SAND-BAG PARAPET AT FORT MOULTRIE, AS COMPLETED BY THE CUNFEDERATKS. 



First Regiment of Artillery, under the command of the Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel of the regiment, John L. Gardiner, with the regi- 
mental band, garrisoned the fort, which had been continuously 
occupied for many years. Its armament consisted of fifty-five 
guns of all calibres, including ten 8-inch Columbiads, eleven how- 
itzers, thirty 24 and 32 pound guns, with four brass field-pieces. 
Its fire commanded all approaches except the rear, and a num- 
ber of its guns concentrated upon a single point in the chan- 
nel, by which every vessel was compelled to pass to enter the 
inner harbor, Unprepared for an attack, it had, in long years of 



6 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

disuse, fallen into a condition similar to Castle Pinckney. The 
winds had piled up the sands on the sea front to a level with and 
against the parapet, and communication was easy from all sides. 
Without a ditch, without defensive arrangements of any kind, it 
was an easy prey to any force that should choose to attack it. 
Some of its officers and men lived habitually outside of the work, 
and its hospital had long been established a short distance 
beyond the walls. 

The sea winds had piled up long rows and hillocks of sand 
on all sides of it, and to the northward especially, and command- 
ing the approach from the main part of the island. At a dis- 
tance of 1 80 or 200 yards from the fort, a range of sand-hills had 
been formed, covered with a sparse, stunted vegetation, which com- 
pletely commanded the parapet upon that side of the work, and 
which, if occupied by riflemen, would greatly embarrass, if not 
effectually prevent, any service of its guns on that side, To its 
defenseless condition the attention of the Government had been 
earnestly called. As long before as the i8th of June, i860, the 
acting Assistant Quartermaster of the post had called the atten- 
tion of the general commanding the department to the condition 
of the work, and had made a request that the sum of $500 
might be sent to him for the purpose of removing the sand from 
the walls of the fort. He urged that, if it was the intention 
" that the walls should fulfill at all the conditions for which they 
were built," it was necessary to remove the sand. "A child," 
said he, " ten years old can easily come into the fort over the 
sand-banks, and the wall offers little or no obstacle." He de- 
clares that the ease with which the walls could be gotten over, 
rendered the place more of a trap in which the garrison might be 
shot down from the parapet than a means of defense. " It looked 
strange," said he, " not to say ridiculous, that the only garrisoned 
fort in the harbor should be so much banked in with sand that 
the walls were in some places not a foot above the banks." Unfit 
for attack, incapable of resistance. Fort Moultrie presented an 
appearance anything but formidable, in the summer of i860. 
The harbor of Charleston had not been overlooked in the general 
appropriation made by Congress for the national defenses in 
1S60, and the sum of $8,500 had been specially designated for 
the repairs of Fort Moultrie, by the act approved on the 21st of 
June. Brevet-Captain J. G. Foster, of the Corps of Engineers, 



SOCIAL RELATIONS. 7 

had relieved Capt. G. W. CuUum, the officer in charge of the en- 
gineering operations in the harbor, and to him the condition ol 
Fort Moultrie, as set forth in the letter of the post quartermaster, 
was referred by the War Department for a report. 

A prompt and exhaustive reply was received from that officet 
on July 2, when he was ordered to proceed without delay to 
Charleston and commence work at once upon the fortifications in 
that harbor. By the 14th of September, the work was begun at 
Moultrie, and " a full force of masons " renewed the work at Fort 
Sumter on the following day. It was thus, in the ordinary rou- 
tine of army administration, and in pursuance of an Act of Con- 
gress making appropriations for the specific purpose, that work 
upon the fortifications in Charleston Harbor was begun and pros- 
ecuted in the summer of i860. 

But however regularly and in accordance with routine that 
work might have been undertaken, it soon became manifest that 
the renewed activity in regard to the forts had attracted the atten- 
tion of the authorities and people of the city and of the State. 
It had come to be accepted as a fact that the coming elections in 
November would result in the defeat of the party in power, and 
in view of this the deliberate purpose of the State had been 
formed. 

Between the officers of the garrison and the summer inhab- 
itants of the island, as well as the people of Charleston, the rela- 
tions had ever been of the most agreeable character. The mili- 
tary band furnished an attractive feature, and the parapet at Fort 
Moultrie was the daily promenade of the fashionable throng. To 
the officers of the little garrison, upon whom the events of a few 
weeks suddenly devolved, perhaps, the gravest responsibilities con- 
nected with the beginning of the Civil War, the severance of 
these social ties — some of them close and prized, and some of 
them strengthened by birth and connection — was one of the ear- 
liest as well as the saddest consequences of their peculiar posi- 
tion. But it was an inevitable consequence, and they so accepted it. 

The officers of the garrison were no exception to the general 
rule which influenced other officers of the army. Reserving to 
themselves the right to hold their individual political sentiments, 
it was without reference to any part in the struggles so often re- 
newed in the country; their allegiance holding to the Government, 
whose servants they were, without regard to the political com- 



8 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

plexion of any special administration. Embracing every shade 
of politics, they were nevertheless a unit in their convictions of 
duty under the peculiar circumstances that surrounded them. 
Long habits of discipline and obedience, acquired in years of 
service, had wrought their full effect, and kept them unwavering 
in the discharge of simple duty until the last. They early appre- 
ciated the earnestness of the leaders and people of South Caro- 
lina, but they left the solution of the difficulties to the same 
tribunal to which they were accustomed to refer their own — the 
Government at Washington. But as the days went by, and the 
determination of South Carolina became more manifest to them, 
and they realized that they and their trust were the offending 
features, they became animated by a single purpose — resistance. 



CHAPTER II. 

Extra session of Legislature to appoint Pi-esidential electors — Governor Gist's 
message urging action, in prospect of political change— Action of Legisla- 
ture—Caucus—Feeling in the State— Action of United States Judge Ma- 
grath— Resignation of District-Attorney and Collector— Provides a bill for 
calling a Convention and to arm the State — Regular session of Legislature — 
Governor's messages and recommendations — Feeling in the State — Wash- 
ington Light Infantry offer their services. 

South Carolina was at this period the only State in the Union 
where the Presidential electors were appointed by the Legislature, 
In accordance with an Act of Congress of 1846, the electors for 
President and Vice-President of the United States were to be ap- 
pointed on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of Novem- 
ber, of the year in which they were to serve. The Governor of 
the State availed himself of the law to call the Legislature of 
i860 together in special session on the 5th of November, not 
only that they might carry into effect the Act of Congress, but 
that they might take action, " if deemed advisable for the safety 
and protection of the State." It was the new Legislature that 
was thus called upon to act. Elected in the previous month of 
October, and composed of the younger men, it had been chosen 
with reference to the anticipated difficulties. Promptly upon the 
day specified the Legislature met in special session at Columbia, 
when the presiding officer of the Senate (Porter) announced that 
they were " all agreed as to their wrongs ;" and he urged unanimity 
of sentiment and action, " as the destiny and very existence of the 
State " depended in great part upon the action they should take. 
The special object of this call of the Legislature could soon have 
been attained, but the Governor, in transmitting his message, em- 
braced the opportunity to call their attention to the existing polit- 
ical condition — that ''a sectional candidate" would be elected 
to the Presidency was deemed strongly probable, and that the 
party electing him were committed to measures which, if carried 
out, would " reduce the Southern States to mere provinces of a 
consolidated despotism." 

9/ 



I o THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

He suggested, therefore, that the Legislature remain in session, 
and take such action as would prepare the State for any emer- 
gency that might arise, and he earnestly recommended that, in 
the event of Abraham Lincoln's election to the Presidency, "a 
convention of the people of this State be immediately called to 
consider and determine for themselves the mode and measure of 
redress." . . . "The only alternative left, in my judgment," said 
he, "is the secession of South Carolina from the Union." He 
thought that it would be followed by the entire South, and that 
the co-operation of other States was near at hand. He recom- 
mended that the militia be reorganized; the whole military force of 
the State placed in a position to be used at the shortest notice ; 
that every man in the State between the ages of eighteen and 
forty-five should be well armed with the most efficient weapons of 
modern warfare; and that the services of 10,000 volunteers should 
be immediately accepted.* 

In a retrospect of events after the nomination of Mr. Lincoln, 
we find no act so full of meaning, so much the result of long 
conceived and cherished purpose, as this. It seemed that the mo- 
ment had come when the hopes of those who for so long had 
influenced Southern sentiment were to be realized; and as the 
Legislature gathered in extra session in Columbia on the 5th of 
November, it was with a determination, long before reached, to 
put into operation that machinery which should separate the State 
from the federal union and render her free and independent. In 
this conclusion they were largely supported by the representatives 
of popular sentiment throughout the State. Prominent men, who 
had long been known as the representatives of the " co-opera- 
tive sentiment," had now changed their minds, and, in speeches 
made to the people during the summer, were openly and boldly 
for separate State action. Conspicuous among them was W. 
W. Boyce, a Member of Congress from South Carolina, who 
had long been a recognized advocate of co-operation. In a 
speech delivered by him at Winsboro, on the 9th day of August, 
i860, he said: "If Lincoln be elected, I think that the Southern 
States should withdraw from the Union. All, but if not all, as 
many as will, and if no other, South Carolina alone, in the 
promptest manner and by the most direct means." He consid- 



* Governor's Message, Extra Session, i860. 



FEELING PRODUCED B V MR. LINCOLN'S ELECTION. \ \ 

ered the success of the Republican party in the Presidential elec- 
tion as involving the necessity of revolution. Upon the 7th 
of November, ere the result of the election was definitely known, 
in an address to the people of Columbia, he said: "The way to 
create revolution is to start it. I think the only policy for us, 
the only thing left for us to do, as soon as we receive authentic 
intelligence of the election of Lincoln and Hamlin, is for South 
Carolina, in the quickest manner and by the most direct means, 
to withdraw from the Union. To submit to Lincoln's election 
is to consent *to death.'" Such sentiments, and from such a 
source, produced an effect marked and immediate. They were 
received with enthusiasm. They were the first public assertions 
of a sentiment growing daily in the minds of a large portion of 
the people, and when the Legislature, and subsequently the Con- 
vention, met and acted, their decision was deemed the simple 
interpretation of the popular will. 

A short time before this extra session of the Legislature, a 
caucus had been called to meet in Columbia. At this caucus, 
letters from leading public men (Pugh, Bullock, Yancey and 
others) of other Southern States were read, in reply to categorical 
questions put to them as to what action they desired South Caro- 
lina to take. These letters unanimously counselled that, as South 
Carolina was the foremost State in secession sentiment, more 
unanimous in her people, and with less division than any other 
State, she should take the lead, and they pledged the cotton States_ 
in her support. These letters not only silenced the claim that the 
other States were jealous of South Carolina, but at once negatived 
the pretexts of the co-operationists and largely influenced the 
action of the Legislature. But while the determination to call 
a convention was general, if not unanimous, the time at which it 
should be called was made the subject of short but earnest dis- 
cussion, both within and without the Legislature. It was thought, 
by some, that there should be co-operation with the other Southern 
States; that it was the better and more expedient course. Others, 
again, believed that the State should await the commission of some 
overt act of hostility to South Carolina upon the part of the 
General Government. But the counsels of those who, at this early 
period, had begun to assume the control of the movement pre- 
vailed. " If we wait for co-operation," said they, " slavery and 
States rights must be abandoned and the cause of the South lost 



1 2 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

forever."* It was not difficult to see that postponement or delay- 
would be hazardous, if not fatal, to the movement. The failure of 
co-operation in 1850-5 1 was recalled to the minds of the prominent 
men, and they instanced the action of Virginia in now declining 
to join the proposed conference of the Southern States upon the 
invitation of South Carolina, as discrediting the cause and repu- 
diating the action of the State Openly and earnestly they 
urged that the State should act alone. Public meetings were 
everywhere held, and in Columbia the arguments for immediate 
action were loudly applauded, and endorsed by the people. The 
result of the election had now become known, and was received 
with deep feeling and with a conviction that the crisis so long 
anticipated, and for so long inevitable, had at last come ; that it 
would unite the South, and that the course to be pursued by the 
State was now clear, while any apprehension of the establishment 
of a free-soil party in their midst, which the success of Mr. 
Douglas would have created, was now set at rest. 

In Charleston the feeling had assumed a distinct and definite 
shape. On the 7th of November the Grand Jury of the United 
States District Court refused to perform the duties of their office. 
The ordinary business had been disposed of, when, in response 
to an inquiry from the presiding judge, as to whether they had 
any presentments to make, the foreman, Mr. Robert N. Gourdin, 
a prominent citizen of Charleston, replied: 

" May it please your Honor, It is understood to be one of the 
functions of the Grand Jury to make presentments of nuisances, 
and to suggest to the court and to the country such reforms 
in Jaw or in its administration as may to them seem proper. 
These presentments are predicated upon the stability of the 
Government, and are designed to promote its gradual and steady 
progress to the highest civilization. 

" Hence it was the purpose of this jury to lay before the 
court some matters suggested by the indictments submitted to 
them, but the events of yesterday seem to render this unnecessary 
now. 

" The verdict of the Northern section of the Confederacy, 
solemnly announced to the country through the ballot-box on 
yesterday, has swept away the last hope for the permanence, for 
the stability, of the Federal Government of these sovereign 
States, and the public mind is constrained to lift itself above the 
consideration of details in the administration of law and justice 



'Mullins in reply to McGowan ; Journal of the House, i860. 



Designation of u. s. judge mag rath. 13 

lip to the vast and solemn issues which have been forced upon us. 
These issues involve the existence of the Government of which 
this court is the organ and minister. In these extraordinary cir- 
cumstances, the Grand Jury respectfully decline to proceed with 
their presentments. They deem this explanation due to the 
court and to themselves." 

A profound silence followed this announcement, when the 
Judge of the court, the Hon. A. G. Magrath, rose in his place and 
formally resigned his ofifice. He said: 

" The business of the term has been disposed of, and under 
ordinary circumstances it would be my duty to dismiss you to 
your several avocations, with my thanks for your presence and 
aid. But now I have something more to do, the omission of 
which would not be consistent with propriety. 

" In the political history of the United States an event has 
happened of ominous import to fifteen slaveholding States. The 
State of which we are citizens has been always understood to have 
deliberately fixed its purpose whenever that event should happen. 

" Feeling an assurance of what will be the action of the State, 
I consider it my duty, without delay, to prepare to obey its 
wishes. That preparation is made by the resignation of the 
office which I have held. 

" For the last time I have, as a Judge of the United States, 
administered the laws of the United States within the limits of 
the State of South Carolina. 

" While thus acting in obedience to a sense of duty, I cannot 
DC indifterent to the emotions it must produce. That depart- 
ment of government which I believe has best maintained its 
integrity and preserved its purity has been suspended. 

"So far as I am concerned the Temple of Justice, raised 
under the Constitution of the United States, is now closed. 

" If it shall never again be opened, I thank God that its doors 
have been closed before its altar has been desecrated with sacri- 
fices to tyranny. 

" May I not say to you that, in the future which we are about 
to penetrate, next to the reliance we should place in the good- 
ness of that God who will guide us in the right way, should be 
our confidence in our State and our obedience to its laws ? We 
are about to sever our relations with others, because they have 
broken their covenant with us. Let us not break the covenant 
we have made with each other. Let us not forget that what the 
laws of our State require become our duties, and that he who 
acts against the wish or without command of his State, usurps 
that sovereign authority which we must maintain inviolate." 

The address was received with profound silence, and during 
its delivery many of the spectators were in tears. 



14 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

The resignation of the United States District-Attorney followed 
at once upon the same day; the judge, who had left the bench and 
divested himself of his robes, resuming his seat to formally accept 
it. That of the Collector of the Port followed soon after, and as 
the news was received at Columbia, it produced the greatest 
impression, and added strength to the arguments of those who 
urged immediate action. A meeting of the prominent politicians 
of South Carolina, including the whole Congressional delegation 
except one, had been held at the residence of United States Senator 
Hammond, near Augusta, on the 25th of October, i860. Gov- 
ernor Gist, the Governor of the State, ex-Governor Adams and ex- 
Speaker Orr were present, and it was unanimously resolved by 
them that South Carolina should secede from the Union in the 
event of Mr. Lincoln's election. But of all the circumstances 
that indirectly exercised an influence on the Legislature in their 
action, the proceedings in the United States Court, then sitting in 
the city of Charleston, and which have just been described, were by 
far the most important in their effect. The views of the presiding 
judge were not known. During the fierce conflict as to the 
necessity of separate State action, in 1850, when the "denial of 
equal rights in the Territories " reopened the whole controversy, 
and when the demand for separate action rang through the State, 
and divided its people as did the tariff question of 1829, he was 
fixedly opposed to the separate action of the State, and was a 
zealous advocate of the co-operation of all the Southern States in 
whatever conduct should be adopted. It was not, then, the ques- 
tion of the right of a State to secede from the Union; this was 
not doubted anywhere in the State; the question was simply one 
of the expediency of its exercise under the then existing circum- 
stances. Invisible forces, acting upon the popular heart, had 
induced a great political change during the time that had passed; 
radical differences, born with the Constitution itself as to the 
nature of the Federal Union and the limits of the Federal Govern- 
ment, had meantime greatly developed themselves; and the people 
of South Carolina, with a new generation just entering upon the 
theatre of political action, found themselves year by year antici- 
pating the time when they would become a party to a controversy 
with the General Government. The maintenance of that theory 
of government adopted by South Carolina, was deemed not only 
essential to its welfare, but as the one recognized in the founda- 



POLITICAL VIEWS OF SOUTH CAROLmA. I5 

tion of the Union. No encroachment upon it should be over- 
looked, and when a proper opportunity was presented it must be 
met, and that opportunity, it was thought, was presented when it 
was ascertained that the popular voice had been expressed in 
favor of one for the Presidency who was believed to be in sym- 
pathy with the political enemies of the slave-holding States, and 
whose elevation to that high office threatened, as was supposed, 
the existence of their industrial pursuits and the overthrow of 
their political institutions. 

Nor was this view confined to the men in prominent political 
place only: it was the conviction of all. The result of the 
election for President was accepted by every class as decisive of 
the action of the State, and that action must be the separation 
from the Federal Union. Its form of political faith had been 
affirmed and proclaimed by its Governors, its General Assem- 
blies and its judges in the most positive and solemn manner, and 
had been recognized and accepted by the people. 

They recognized no more allegiance to the General Govern- 
ment, as sovereign, than to any entirely foreign State, excepting 
as determined by the conditions of the Union and the Constitu- 
tion. And they held that, whenever these conditions were 
violated by the Federal Government, the sovereign people and 
Commonwealth of South Carolina had the right, if they deemed 
it expedient, to dissolve such allegiance. 

When, therefore, the election of Mr. Lincoln was announced 
to them, they saw in it the sure precursor of danger and ruin. 
They had no leader, they needed none, but rushed on without 
further thought to the adoption of what they considered a proper 
exercise of their right and their most certain protection. Like 
others who had been the advocates of co-operation in 1850, the 
United States Judge had accepted the conclusion that not only was 
there now sufficient cause for separate State action, but that the 
dissolution of its relation with the Union was necessary to the 
welfare of the State. 

In accordance with this conviction his sudden announcement 
and action in the United States District Court at Charleston 
produced an effect so marked and immediate as to give an increased 
impetus to the movement. Its result was felt not only in Charles- 
ton and in the State; it reached to Washington. The President 
saw the whole Federal machinery, upon which he relied in the 



1 6 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

exercise of his constitutional powers to enforce the laws, swept 
away at once, and himself without any power to restore it. 
Meantime a large and enthusiastic meeting was held in Charles- 
ton, at which a committee, consisting of the three prominent 
citizens who had lately resigned from Federal office, was appointed 
to go to Columbia and urge immediate action upon the Legisla- 
ture. The members of the Charleston delegation had been divi- 
ded in opinion as to the time at which the Convention should be 
called. It was urged that more efficient action could be relied 
upon if the call for a Convention was postponed until near the 
close of Mr. Buchanan's administration. Upon the arrival of the 
committee from Charleston, however, the delegation was called 
together to confer with them, when, after the interview, they 
became a unit for immediate action. 

It was under such influences that the Legislature had met in 
extra session, when, without discussion, without the display of 
emotion or feeling inseparable from debate, without any demand 
for hasty action, a resolution was offered in the Senate on the 
second day of the session, making so much of the Governor's 
message as refers to a call of the people of this State, the reorgan- 
ization of the militia, and preparations for the defense of the State 
the special order for the following day. The committee on 
Federal relations was ordered to report a bill, which was done on 
the 8th of November. It provided for calling a convention for 
the purpose of secession. It was soon disposed of. Upon its 
second reading, on the 9th, it received but one dissenting voice, 
that of Mr. McAlilley, Senator from Chester, and upon its final 
passage, on the loth, the vote was 42 in the affirmative, and in the 
negative, none. In the House a similar course had been pursued. 
The Senate Bill, with the report of the committee on Federal 
relations of the House, was recommitted to the committee of the 
whole House, which discussed it, and on the 12th it was passed 



Note. — In a conversation with Judge Black on the loth of January, 1883, 
I mentioned to him that I was about to visit Charleston, S. C. ; that some of 
those who had been conspicuous in the early days of the war were still living; 
and that I hoped to see them, and especially to converse at length with Judge 
Magrath. •* Is Judge Magrath still living ? " inquired Judge Black; " the act 
of that man caused more anxiety to Mr. Buchanan than any other event that 
occurred, except Anderson's movement from Moultrie to Sumter." He thought 
that the only thing to be done was to refill the Federal offices thus vacated, 
and that he believed to be difficult, if not impossible. — [Author.] 



SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE MEETS. \ 7 

by ^ vote of 114 in the affirmative, and in the negative none. 
'l"he election for delegates was to be held on the 6th of Decem- 
ber, and the Convention to meet on the 17th. Other resolutions 
were adopted, authorizing the committees on military affairs of 
the Senate and House to meet during the recess, and to prepare a 
plan for arming the State, to organize a permanent military 
bureau, and to reorganize the militia. On the T3th the Governor 
communicated to the Legislature the resignation of United States 
Senator Hammond. Resolutions were at once passed in both 
Houses, recognizing the act of Senator Hammond as one of loy- 
alty and devotion to the sovereignty of South Carolina, " at once 
worthy of his high character and filial devotion." The Legisla- 
ture then adjourned, having fully accomplished the object of 
their extra session. 

On the 26th of November, the Legislature of the State again 
met in regular session. So confidently was the secession of the 
State anticipated that measures looking to its prospective political 
relation were freely discussed and commented upon. The 
Governor, upon the reassembling of the Legislature, transmitted 
a message rehearsing the arguments for secession and counselling 
prompt and independent action. " In looking forward," said he, " to 
the separate nationality of South Carolina, many changes will 
have to be made in existing laws;" and among others he recom- 
mends that the law prohibiting masters from permitting negroes 
to hire their own time and make contracts, should be so amended 
as to attach a penalty of fine and imprisonment to the parties 
violating it; that no slave mechanic should be permitted to hire 
white men to work under his direction ; and that it must be 
distinctly understood that the white is the governing race without 
an exception, and without regard to a disparity of intellect, merit 
or acquirements; and he recommends the enactment of a law 
" punishing summarily and severely, if not with death, any person 
that circulates incendiary documents, avows himself an abolitionist, 
or in any way attempts to create insubordination or insurrection 
among the slaves;" that the effort to call a convention of the 
Southern States had failed, and that there was but one course left 
for South Carolina to pursue, and that was, " to go straight forward 
to the consummation of her purpose;" that she would not stand 
alone; she had the right to secede peaceably, and the Government 
could not rightfully prevent a State from seceding, but that " men 



1 8 THE G EXES IS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

having arms in their hands may use them;" and he earnestly- 
urged upon the Legislature the necessity of arming the State at 
the earliest practicable period, and thus be prepared for the worst. 
"It is gratifying to know," he said, "that if we must resort to 
arms in defense of our rights, and a blow should be struck at 
South Carolina before the other States move up in line, we have the 
tender of volunteers from all the Southern and some of the North 
em States, to repair promptly to our standard and share our 
fortunes." At the close of his official term, the Governor trans- 
mitted a second and final message, reiterating the fact that the 
State had at last determined to "part company with those that 
treat her as aliens and enemies," and that, "having forever closed 
the door from which we have passed out ot the Union, we may 
with safety seek co-operation and unite with other States."* 

The delay of the Convention for a single week to pass the 
ordinance of secession would have a blighting and chilling influ- 
ence upon the other Southern States, and he trusted that by the 
25th of December no flag but the Palmetto would float over any part 
of the State of South Carolina. At the same time he presented to 
the Legislature "one of the pikes intended by John Brown to be 
used by the negroes of Virginia upon the unoffending and peace- 
able inhabitants of that State;" and he repeated the request of 
Mr. Rufifin, of Virginia, who had brought it, that it might be 
placed in some conspicuous position in the State House at 
Columbia, there to remain and be preserved as an abiding and 
impressive evidence of the fanatical hatred borne by the dominant 
Northern party to the institutions and people of the Southern 
States, and he recommended that the thanks of the State be 
returned to Mr. Rufiin for this memento of Southern wrongs too 
long and too patiently borne. It was thus that public sentiment 
was formed and supported by personal and official influences, and 
with a special reference to its effect upon the Convention so soon 
to assemble at Columbia. 

But even at this early period the current of events was lead- 
ing to the open assertion of what was considered in South Carolina 
as the rights of their State; and a conviction was rapidly growing 
in the minds of the people that such assertion, if maintained, 



* It would appear that co-operation before individual State action was 
regarded as unwise, and in the nature of a conspiracy. 



MILITARY OliGAA'IZA TIONS MO ViNG. \ <\ 

would inevitably result in a conflict with the General Government. 
Military organizations had begun to act, and as early as the 20th 
of October the Washington Light Infantry, an elite corps of 
Charleston, at a special meeting held by them had taken into 
consideration " the threatening aspect of affairs and the necessity of 
preparing to meet the emergency." Their commanding ofificer, 
Captain Simonton, suggested that preparations be made " to take 
the field at a moment's warning," and a resolution was offered by 
one of their number, Sergeant W. A. Courtenay,* and unanimously 
adopted, that the services of the organization should be offered to 
the Governor as an independent Battalion of Light Troops "of not 
less than two hundred men," and in case of service they should be 
so recognized. 

To this prompt tender of their services the Governor replied, 
accepting it conditionally, and expressing an opinion that, from 
the signs of the times, "South Carolina will require the support of 
all her sons," when he would place the organization in "the front 
rank of its country's defenders." 

As soon as the result of the election was known, the Governor 
called for the services of the Washington Light Infantry, and, as 
will be subsequently seen, stationed them as a guard over the 
United States Arsenal in the city of Charleston, on the 12th of 
November. 



* The present efficient mayor of Charleston, S. C. 



CHAPTER III. 

Political situation at Washington — The Cabinet — Their individual political 
views — The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Cobb, determines to with- 
draw from public life in case of Mr. Lincoln's election — Views of General 
Cass, the Secretary of State — Judge Black— Mr. Holt, the Secretary of 
War — Mr. Floyd — The President determines to reinforce the Forts in 
Charleston Harbor — Action of Assistant Secretary of State Trescot — 
Southern Members of Cabinet consult — Assistant Secretary of State writes, 
asking Governor Gist to write to the President — Reply of the Governor — 
President sends a copy of his Message by the Assistant Secretary to Gov- 
ernor Gist, who is uninfluenced by it — South Carolina delegation arrive 
in Washington — The arrival of the Assistant Secretary with the President's 
Message, anticipated by telegram from Washington. 

Meantime, the Government at Washington was not indiffer- 
ent to the movements in South Carolina. The President and 
Cabinet had recognized the certainty of a great political change; 
and the prospect of the advent to power of a party wholly com- 
mitted to a national policy diametrically opposed to their own 
was fully anticipated. Men of prominence in the South had gone 
northward, and had satisfied themselves of the impending change, 
and, in passing through Washington on their return, had freely 
expressed their convictions. In spite of the angry discussions in 
and out of Congress, the full meaning of which but few realized, 
the country and the Cabinet simply drifted through the long sum- 
mer into a condition of things the only solution of which was 
war. The great national issues which had divided the Whig and 
Democratic parties had ceased to interest or control popular opin- 
ion. The fierce discussions of the slavery question, which had 
for some years past excited and embittered the popular temper, 
had resulted in the complete extinction of the Whig party; and 
in the coming contest the Democratic party found itself opposed 
by a new organization, which, from the very character of its prin- 
ciples and measures, made the political issue one between the 
North and the South. It was obvious that if this party succeeded, 
and the South, believing itself placed on the defensive, should carry 
out the policy of resistance which it had declared in advance, the 



MR. BUCHANAN'S CABINET. 21 

close of Mr. Buchanan's administration would be a troubled 
one, and his Cabinet would be divided into hostile factions. 
In the condition of things just developing, there could be no 
unity of administration in a Cabinet which represented such con- 
flicting interests and opinions. Mr. Buchanan's Cabinet consisted 
of three Northern men. General Cass, of Michigan, Secretary of 
State; Mr. Toucey, of Connecticut, Secretary of the Navy, and 
Judge J. S. Black, of Pennsylvania, Attorney-General; and of 
four Southern men, Mr. Howell Cobb, of Georgia, Secretary 
of the Treasury; Gov. J. B. Floyd, of Virginia, Secretary of War; 
Mr. Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, Secretary of the Interior; 
and Mr. J. Holt, of Kentucky, Postmaster-General. 

Mr. W. H. Trescot, the Assistant Secretary of State, who had 
been Acting Secretary under the President's warrant during the 
absence of General Cass, from June to October, i860, was a 
native of South Carolina. His relations to the Secretary of State 
and the President were known to be close, while he was naturally 
in friendly connection with the Southern members of the Cabinet, 
and intimately so with the leaders of the movement in his own 
State; and he was soon sought as the exponent and the vehicle 
of their views and intentions in the antagonism that seemed to 
be daily developing between the Government at Washington and 
South Carolina. After severing his connection with the Cabinet, 
he became the agent of his State, and immediately upon his 
return to South Carolina, in February, 1861, he made a record of 
his impressions of the " events which have been the subject of so 
much controversy, and the truth about which is of essential 
importance to the future history of the country." A record 
thus made may well be considered a valuable contribution to the 
materials of that future history. It is from this manuscript the 
writer has drawn largely; and oftentimes the clear and vigorous 
narrative has been inserted in the terse and graphic words of the 
author himself. He says: 

" Placed thus, at the head of the State Department, my rela- 
tions with the President, the Cabinet and the foreign ministers 
were naturally and necessarily freer and more intimate than 
they would have been under ordinary circumstances. I was thus 
familiar with the hopes and fears, the opinions and expectations, 
which agitated the rulers of the country during that exciting 
period which preceded the secession of South Carolina, while my 



2 2 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

correspondence from home kept me fully informed how public 
opinion there was preparing for the inevitable issue. During the 
summer all the political signs confirmed the belief that the defeat 
of the Democratic party was certain. The Southern Senators 
and members who had at the close of the session gone North to 
judge for themselves, all in passing through Washington bore the 
same invariable testimony as to what they had seen and heard. 
Evidence of all sorts flowed in upon the Executive Committee of 
the party which sat at the Capitol, and to the same effect. One 
sort of testimony struck me particularly. The State Department 
had the selection of papers in which to publish the Laws, so 
many papers for each State, and as the patronage was not very 
considerable, it was distributed, of course, with a view to party 
influence. The applications for these appointments brought me 
in contact with political editors from all parts of the country, and, 
with every disposition and every temptation to be sanguine, their 
statements only confirmed the certainty of a great political defeat. 

" The President and the Cabinet had full time to consider their 
positions. 

" The President and Governor Toucey, the Secretary of the 
Navy, seemed to agree most perfectly. They thought that the 
Republican victory was only illusory — that the party could not 
survive success — that, after four years of power, checked and 
crossed by a powerful opposition, a great and universal reaction, 
already commenced, would complete its destruction and restore 
the old Democracy, purified and strengthened, to its ancient rule. 
They did not believe that the South was in earnest, and thought 
secession only probable in the case of South Carolina, a result 
which, being manageable, might after all have a very wholesome 
effect. 

" Mr. Cobb, the Secretary of the Treasury, held and expressed 
but one opinion, that it was the duty of the South, in defense 
both of honor and interest, to dissolve the Union. He thought 
that every State should secede by itself, and that secession should 
be practically accomplished on the 4th of March, upon the close 
of Mr. Buchanan's administration. This he thought most likely 
to unite the South, and only due to Mr. Buchanan's consistent 
support of Southern rights. Of the earnestness of these opin- 
ions he gave convincing proof by writing to his friends in Georgia 
that, if upon the election of Mr. Lincoln there was a probability 



OPINIONS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CABINET 



23 



that the State would acquiesce, he wished his name withdrawn 
as a candidate for the United States Senate, as, with his views, 
he could no longer continue in public life with hope or honor. 

" Governor Floyd, Secretary of War, thought secession unwise 
and a dissolution of the Union unnecessary. Like Mr. Buchanan 
and Mr. Toucey, he believed the Black Republican triumph only 
temporary, and that its success would be its destruction. As a 
matter of policy, therefore, he wished to fight in the Union, but 
he recognized the right of a State to secede, fully sympathizing 
with the South in the opinion that, as far as the North was con- 
cerned, enough had been done to justify any action the South 
might take, and was resolute that no force should be employed 
by the Government to restrain the action of an independent State. 

" Mr. Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, seemed to me, while 
holding the general opinions entertained by Southern men, to be 
governed in his personal conduct by a strong attachment to Mr. 
Buchanan, an unwillingness to believe in the necessity of the 
extreme measure of secession, and a readiness to acquiesce in 
any course which his State — Mississippi — should adopt. 

" General Cass, Secretary of State, like Mr. Cobb, held clear 
and well-defined opinions. From the beginning he believed Lin- 
coln's election certain, and the dissolution of the Union, or at 
least the secession of the South, inevitable. Not recognizing any 
right in a State to secede except as a revolutionary measure, he 
would have resisted the attempt at the commencement, and, as 
the sworn officer of the United States, he would have done his 
utmost to preserve its integrity. *I speak to Cobb,' he would 
say, ' and he tells me he is a Georgian; to Floyd, and he tells me 
he is a Virginian; to you, and you tell me you are a Carolinian. I 
am not a Michigander; I am a citizen of the United States. The 
laws of the United States bind you, as they bind me, individually; 
if you, the citizens of Georgia or Virginia or Carolina, refuse 
obedience to them, it is my sworn duty to enfore them.' That 
he believed to be his duty, and he would have done it, although 
he believed he would not succeed in the attempt, for he also 
believed that great wrong and injustice had been done the South; 
that the Black Republican party was organized for its destruction; 
and, as he always predicted, that a long and bloody civil war was 
the sure and necessary result of the existing condition of things. 
Judge Black, the Attorney-General, to a great extent agreed with 



24 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



General Cass, but he treated the question exclusively as one of 
constitutional law. At least, it always seemed to me that he was 
unwilling to look at the political consequences of secession, and 
the question which he proposed to himself for solution was. 
What is the legal wrong involved in secession, and what is the 
legal remedy ? a question to be solved judicially, not politically. 
His views were always supposed to be specially enforced in the 
full and forcible argument afterwards embodied in the President's 
message. 

"Of the opinions and feelings of Mr. Holt, the Postmaster- 
General, I never knew more than was to be inferred from his 
position in the Cabinet and his action when appointed Secretary 
of War." 

Of the members of the Cabinet thus enumerated, those who, 
in view of the threatening aspect of affairs, occupied the most 
prominent positions, were the Attorney-General, Judge Black, and 
the Secretary of War, Mr. Floyd. The trained and vigorous 
mind of Judge Black did not long hold him to any technical 
solution of the difficulties, and, as the time passed, and brought 
with every day events and momentous issues that pressed upon 
the country, the views of Judge Black expanded, and he grew 
daily in appreciation and harmonious sympathy with the demands 
of the situation. Stern partisan as he was, he yielded to the 
demands of the country, until the same brain that created and the 
same hand that penned the Attorney-General's opinion of Novem- 
ber, i860, came equally to trace the able comments of the states- 
man upon the President's letter to the South Carolina Com- 
missioners, as well as the utterances of the patriot in the letter of 
January 17, 1861, to Lieutenant-General Scott. 

His prejudices were as deep-seated as his convictions were 
strong, and when he took occasion to express his opinions, it was 
often done with little reference to their harmony or discord with 
those of other men. Wholly in accord with his party, " he found 
himself at all times opposed to the same enemy," and his opinions 
were often formed amid the " stress and passion of action." His 
relations to the President had ever been close through a long 
career. He was his counsellor, and, as will be seen, his influence 
was potential. His personal attachment was deep and real, and 
although the public acts of the President were often the subject 
of close, logical criticism, the utterance of any conclusion of con- 



SKETCH OF MR. HOLT. 



25 



demnation was ever avoided, while his respect for his good quali- 
ties never failed to find in him a vigorous expression while he 
lived.* 

Mr. Holt, the Postmaster-General, was a native of Kentucky. 
His State was divided probably more than any other upon the 
questions of public policy now agitating the country, but his 
own views were well known, and afterward found assertion in his 
able speeches to his people, denouncing the proposed neutrality 
of the State. 

A distinguished lawyer, he had been called by Mr. Buchanan 
in 1857 to his first public office, that of Commissioner of Patents. 
Subsequently, upon the death of Aaron V. Brown, the position of 
Postmaster-General was tendered to him by the President, which 
he accepted. Upon the retirement of Governor Floyd from the 
Cabinet he became the Secretary of War, and through the trying 
scenes at the close of Mr. Buchanan's administration, to the 
inauguration of Mr. Lincoln and beyond it, he guided the affairs 
of the War Department with patriotic firmness and ability. What 
in the exercise of his office he was called upon to do will be seen 
as this narrative progresses ; but it may not now be amiss if the 
writer recalls with gratitude his defense of Anderson and his 
command, in their position in Charleston harbor, his able argu- 
ment in defining the position of the Government in its course as to 
Sumter, and his support of the little garrison, as his words came 
to them encouraging them in their duty. 

The question which from first to last agitated all minds, which, 
both before and after the secession of the State loomed up as 
almost the only subject of immediate danger to the success of the 
movements, and which at once engaged the attention of the Gov- 
ernment at Washington, of the authorities of the State, and the 
Convention, was the status of the public property in the city and 



*0n the 22d of March, 1882, I had a long and earnest conversation with 
Judge Black upon the subject of the interview between the President and the 
Congressional delegation of South Carolina, as to the understanding or arrange- 
ment agreed upon at that interview. The details of his interview with the Presi- 
dent, when the commissioners of South Carolina were in Washington, were stated, 
when at the end I said, " Well, then, Judge Black, there appears to be but one 
inference to be drawn, but one conclusion to be reached ; the President did 
make that agreement." The Judge rose, and, looking steadily at me for a 
moment, said, " Remember, that is your conclusion," — [Author.] 



26 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

harbor of Charleston, The necessity and the policy of reinfor- 
cing the forts in Charleston harbor in advance of the anticipated 
secession of the State were subjects of constant discussion in the 
Cabinet. General Cass, the Secretary of State, and Judge Black, 
the Attorney-General, were urgent that the forts in the South, 
and especially those in Charleston harbor, should be reinforced 
at once. 

The Secretary of War, Mr, Floyd, remained firm in his deter- 
mination that no reinforcement should be sent. " He said," says 
the Assistant Secretary of State in his narrative, " that with his 
opinions he never could and never would consent to the coercion 
of a sovereign State ; that while he did not think the anticipated 
action of South Carolina wise, he sympathized deeply with her 
spirit ; that, considering the reinforcement of the garrisons in 
Charleston harbor as looking very like coercion, and at any rate 
only calculated to excite and irritate the popular feelmg, he would 
not consent to it. But that, on the other hand, he would not sub- 
mit to any attempt on the part of the people to take the forts; 
that he was bound to resist, and would resist. What would be 
the consequence of the secession of the State was a grave question, 
but one which had not yet arisen. That at present he was only 
resolved upon two things: not to reinforce the forts, and not to 
allow them to be taken by an unlawful force. In these positions 
I agreed with him ; and we agreed further in believing that there 
was no danger of an attack on the forts by an unlawful mob, and 
that the State would take the action she might deem necessary, 
regularly, and with due notice to the Government at Washington. 
The position of Governor Floyd I explained fully, and at his own 
request, by letters to those at home who could, in my opinion, 
best use the knowledge for the purpose of quieting the alarm and 
apprehensions of the citizens of Charleston. The apprehensions 
of the people of Charleston, however, were not easily quieted, and 
General Cass and Judge Black were urgent that the forts should 
be reinforced. The subject was one of constant discussion. 
Governor Floyd was earnest in his determination and resolved 
not to reinforce, but he thought that if such were his opinions, 
he ought to be trusted by the State; that if in the ordinary routine 
of the business of the War Department he sent a few men to 
Fort Sumter, or a few boxes of ammunition to Fort Moultrie, to 
supply the vacancies caused by death or desertion and to furnish 



POSITION OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 2 J 

the usual amount of powder kept in the garrison, these acts 
ought not to be objects of suspicion; that in fact this jealousy and 
clamor against his ordinary action was weakening his power to 
act when an extraordinary emergency did arise. Besides, as he 
argued on one occasion with great force, 'You tell me that if 
any attempt is made to do what under ordinary circumstances is 
done every day, you will be unable to restrain your people. 
Suppose you are not able to restrain them now, am / bound to 
leave these garrisons unprotected, to the mercy of a mob ; am / 
not bound to enable them to resist an unlawful violation which 
you cannot control?' While I felt the strength of this reasoning, 
I knew also that in the then condition of feeling in Charleston 
anything that could be even misunderstood or misrepresented as 
reinforcement would lead to an explosion that would injure the 
whole Southern cause. I therefore saw Mr. Cobb and explained 
to him what I understood to be Governor Floyd's position. I told 
him that while I admitted its strength, things were in that condi- 
tion that he could not act from it; that I had the most perfect 
confidence in him, and had pledged myself at home that our 
people could trust him implicitly, but that any nice difference 
between what was reinforcement for the purpose of reinforcement, 
and what was ordinary routine business, would not be understood 
at such a time ; and that unless the Secretary of War could 
make up his mind to allow no change in the forts, important or 
not, I could not answer for the consequences, and, after what I 
had written home, would feel bound to resign and tell the author- 
ities there to judge for themselves. I believed that such a step 
would lead to the occupation of Fort Sumter in forty-eight hours, 
and I told him that I was on my way to Governor Floyd to an- 
nounce to him my conclusion. He proposed that I should post- 
pone my visit until after a conference that he was to have that 
morning with the Governor and Mr. Thompson. I did so. That 
night Governor Floyd called at my house, and in a long and very 
free conversation expressed his former convictions, his feeling 
that the State ought to accept his action without suspicion, as his 
opinions were well known, fixed, and had been acted on constantly 
long before this crisis had come. But that if I thought col- 
lision between the people of the State and the Government forces 
would be precipitated, he would not consent that a man or a gun 
should be sent to any of the forts in the harbor of Charleston; and 



28 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

if his sense of duty induced any change in his determination, I 
should be informed by him in advance of any action and in ample 
time to pursue such a course as I deemed proper. Things con- 
tinued upon this footing during the preparation of the President's 
annual message, the contemplation of which it seemed certain 
must produce a dissolution of the Cabinet, for the nearer the 
time came for opinion to take the form of action, the more utterly 
impossible was it to reconcile the differences. Those members 
of the Cabinet who desired that remforcements should be sent to 
Charleston pressed their policy, and a few evenings after the 
conversation with Governor Floyd, just related, he called upon me 
evidently much excited. He said that just after dinner the 
President had sent for him (at the room in the State Department, 
which he occupied while preparmg his message); that when he 
reached him he found General Cass and Judge Black, who retired 
immediately upon his entrance. The President then informed 
him that he had determined to reinforce the garrisons in Charles- 
ton harbor, upon which a very animated discussion arose. The 
President finally consented to suspend his decision until General 
Scott could reach Washington, and he had been telegraphed to 
come on immediately. Governor Floyd felt confident that he 
could satisfy General Scott of the impolicy of such a step, that it 
could not be supported, and that the distribution of United States 
troops was such as to render anything looking like the use of force 
not only idle but disastrous, as it must provoke attack, which the 
Government was in no condition to resist successfully." When, 
therefore the pressure of General Cass and Judge Black upon the 
President for the immediate reinforcement of the forts became 
urgent, it seemed to the Southern members of the Cabinet to be 
important to devise some means by which such a necessity should be 
obviated. The practical question that presented itself was, by what 
means the President could be induced to change his purpose; they 
were anxious both that any action taken by the Southern States 
be regularly made — in their opinion, constitutionally made — and 
that Mr. Buchanan should be spared the embarrassment and 
difficulty which would result from any premature and violent 
demo.istration in them. They desired that time should be 
allowed for the development of a complete unity of purpose in all 
the Southern States, and that the issue which now seemed inevi- 
table should be met by the new Administration, whose advent to 
power was considered by them the provocation. 



TROPOSITION OF THE ASS'T SEC. OF STATE. 29 

"Governor Floyd declared," says the Assistant Secretary in 
his narrative, " that his mind was made up, that he would cut off 
his right hand before he would sign an order to send reinforce- 
ments to the Carolina forts, and that if the President insisted, he 
would resign. Mr. Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, agreed 
with him perfectly, and said he would sustain his course and fol- 
low him." 

After considerable discussion, various propositions were sug- 
gested, among them one from the Assistant Secretary of State, 
who proposed that he should go to the President, " state to him 
that the Secretary of War had communicated to me his intention, 
and then endeavor to disabuse his mind of any unfounded appre- 
hensions as to the action of the State, and submit to him the rea- 
sons, based upon information in my possession, against such a 
policy as he thought of adopting, should I make no impression, 
I would then say that under the circumstances it was my duty, 
however painful, to submit my resignation then and there, and 
leave for Columbia the next morning, to lay the facts before the 
executive of South Carolina. I would be in Columbia in thirty-six 
hours, and upon such information there could be no earthly doubt 
that the forts would be occupied in the following twenty-four. 
Such a resolution, respectfully but firmly stated, would I thought 
make the President hesitate. Indeed, he could not have acted, 
for he would have been forced to remove Governor Floyd, and 
the time occupied in the changes and the execution of the orders 
would have been more than enough to give the State the necessary 
opportunity. Such a proceeding was of course only to be adopted 
as a last resort, because it involved necessarily such a breach be- 
tween the President and Governor Floyd as would compel his resig- 
nation, if not anticipated by his dismissal, and because while it 
gave the State warning it only precipitated the issue. For, once 
taken, the die was cast, the forts would be seized, and the Gov- 
ernment could not have submitted either to its defeat or to the 
manner in which it was effected." 

Another proposition was one to the effect that the Member of 
Congress from Charleston should be at once summoned to Wash- 
ington, in the hope that his representation of the public feeling, 
which had been possibly exaggerated, would relieve the Presi- 
dent's mind of any fear of an outbreak. The proposition which 
was finally adopted, says the Assistant Secretary of State, was that 



30 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



" I should write to the Governor of the State— Governor Gist — tell 
him that the President was under very strong apprehensions that 
the people of Charleston w^ould seize the forts; that in conse- 
quence he felt bound to send reinforcements. That the South- 
ern members of the Cabinet would resist this policy, to resig- 
nation, but that they thought that if he felt authorized to write 
a letter assuring the President that if no reinforcements were 
sent, there would be no attempt upon the forts before the meet- 
ing of the Convention, and that then commissioners would be sent 
to negotiate all the points of difference ; that their hands would 
be strengthened, the responsibility of provoking collision would 
be taken from the State, and the President would probably be 
relieved from the necessity of pursuing this policy." They added: 
" If such a letter was written, and failed, he should have infor- 
mation in ample time to take such steps as the interest of the 
State required." 

" I therefore addressed Governor Gist the following letter: 

" [Strictly Confidential.] 

"Washington, November 26, i860. 

" Dear Sir: I am aware (and I do not deem it necessary to 
specify my source of information) that apprehensions exist in 
the mind of the President that before the State acts in conven- 
tion some attempt will be made to take the forts in Charleston 
harbor. Feeling that his personal honor would be involved in 
such an attempt, he may make his apprehensions the pretext or 
ground on which to order an increased force to those posts. This 
order will be resisted to the very last, and at any cost, by the 
Southern members of the Cabinet, but they would be incalculably 
strengthened in their position if you were at liberty to say directly 
to the President that you could answer, on your responsibility, 
that so long as no change was made in these garrisons, so long 
as no additional force was sent there and the State remained in 
the Union, no such attempt would be made, and that any in- 
crease of iforce made in the face of this notice would lead to 
instant collision, and that for every drop of blood shed under 
such circumstances he, and he alone, would be responsible. 

" I wish you distinctly to understand that there is no possi- 
bility of such an order being issued without the dissolution of 
the Cabinet and your receiving ample notice. While I answer for 
this, I write with the confidence that such an assurance w^ill pre- 
vent any hasty and indiscreet movement on the part of the State. 
Believing that you agree fully with me that, for the sake of the 
State and of the South, our move toward secession ought to be 
regular and orderly, and that all collision should be avoided. 



LETTER FROM GOVERNOR GIST. 



31 



and feeling that the Southern members of the Cabinet are entitled 
to the support of the State, I write to you to indicate how you 
can support them. To that point alone, this letter is addressed. 
If it becomes necessary for the State to look to itself, you shall 
know promptly and certainly. 

" If, therefore, you can write such a letter as I indicate, the 
Southern members of the Cabinet can rest upon it triumphantly 
no such order will be issued in the face of it, and if it is, you 
will be free to act, will have ample information as to the neces- 
sity of action, and the whole responsibility of what comes will 
be, not on the head of South Carolina, but of the President of the 
United States. 

" If so, your letter must be here by return mail, directed under 
cover to me. Telegraph me also when this is received, and if 
you intend to answer yes or no to my proposition. Details I 
cannot give you, but trust that my signature will command your 
confidence. I am, yours respectfully, 

"Wm. Henry Trescot." 

"To Governor Gist." 

To this letter I received the following answer: 

" Executive Office, 
"Columbia, S. C, November 29, i860. 
" Mr. Wm. Henry Trescot. 

^' Dear Sir: Although South Carolina is determined to secede 
from the Federal Union very soon after her Convention meets, 
yet the desire of her constituted authorities is, not to do anythmg 
that v/ill bring on a collision before the ordinance of secession 
has been passed and notice has been given to the President of 
the fact; and not then, unless compelled to do so by the refusal 
of the President to recognize our right to secede, by attempting 
to interfere with our exports or imports, or by refusal to surren- 
der the forts and arsenals in our limits. I have found great dif- 
ficulty in restraining the people of Charleston from seizing the 
forts, and have only been able to restrain them by the assurance 
that no additional troops would be sent to the forts, or any muni- 
tions of war. Everything is now quiet, and will remain so until 
the ordinance is passed, if no more soldiers or munitions of war 
are sent on. That is to say, I will use my utmost efforts to effect 
that object, and believe I will succeed; but the Legislature and 
myself would be powerless to prevent a collision if a single soldier 
or another gun or ammunition is sent on to be placed in the forts. 
If President Buchanan takes a course different from the one indi- 
cated and sends on a reinforcement, the responsibility will rest 
on him of lighting the torch of discord, which will only be 
quenched in blood. I am under a pledge to sanction resistance, 
and to use all the military power of the State to prevent any 
increase of troops in these garrisons, and had to make the pledge 



32 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



to restrain the people, who are restive, and hope no necessity will 
arise to compel me to redeem the pledge. I write to you know- 
ing that, while you will be faithful to the Government of the 
United States as long as you hold office under it, yet you are 
also a South Carolinian, and would desire, by all means, to avoid 
the needless shedding of blood. If you think there is no impro- 
priety in showing this letter to the President you are at liberty 
to do so, for I do not wish him to be mistaken and act in such a 
way as to bring upon the country a bloody war, without the most 
imperious necessity. Very truly yours, 

''Wm. H. Gist." 

At the same time I received the following letter from Gov- 
ernor Gist, which had crossed mine to him on the road: 

" [Confidential.] 

" Executive Department, 
" Columbia, S. C, November 29, i860. 
" Mr. W. H. Trescot. 

" Dear Sir: I take the liberty, from your general character 
and without the pleasure of a personal acquaintance, to ask if you 
have any objections, in the event of your connection with the 
Federal Government ceasing, to remain in Washington and act as 
confidential agent for this Department. It is important to have 
some one at Washington to give me the earliest information of 
what transpires affecting the interest of this State, and I know no 
one so acceptable as yourself. It is probable that the Convention 
will want some one on the spot through whom the information of 
its final action can be authoritatively communicated to the Presi- 
dent at the earliest moment and an answer received. If you 
remain I will inform the Convention that you are in Washington, 
and suggest that you be selected to perform this delicate and 
important duty. If there is any inquiry as to the course South 
Carolina will pursue, you may safely say that she will not permit 
any increase of troops or munitions of war in the forts or arsenal, 
and, considering it an evidence of intention to coerce and an act 
of war, she will use force to prevent it, and a collision must 
inevitably ensue. I have had great trouble, as it is, to prevent an 
attack upon the forts, and will not be able (if willing) to prevent 
an attack upon them if another soldier is sent there. Of course, 
I do not expect you to act in the premises until your duty to the 
Federal Government ceases, but I cannot but anticipate such a 
result soon. An early answer is requested. 

" Very respectfully and truly yours, 

"Wm. H. Gist." 

In view of this letter, and from the fact that the action of the 
State was now considered certain, the Assistant Secretary deter- 
mined to offer his resignation to the President, remaining, how- 



RESIGNA TION OFASSISTAXT SECRETAR Y OF STA TE. 3 3 

ever, for a few days in office, in order that the President might 
have an opportunity to select his successor. The President 
replied to him that " however much he regretted the necessity, he 
had anticipated it for some time," and then, in language which it 
is unnecessary to repeat, expressed his pleasure at the relations 
which had always existed between them. He said that it was due 
to him to make his appointment of a successor as soon as possible, 
and that it certainly should be done before the Convention of 
South Carolina had taken any action:* " I cannot but express 
my grateful recollection of Mr. Buchanan's uniform kindness and 
confidence in his conduct to me. The absence of General Cass 
for the summer, and his health when in Washington, brought me 
into very constant personal association with the President. Having 
been Minister both to Russia and England, and also Secretary of 
State, he took special interest in that department, and watched 
its proceedings with minute and well-informed interest. His 
diplomatic experience was large, and his general views very 
cautious and very clear, and his knowledge always accurate. My 
official intercourse with him was invariably pleasant. With the 
ordinary mass of the business of the Department he never inter- 
fered, and, on all matters large and important enough for his 
decision, gave careful and most considerate attention to views 
and opinions with which he did not agree; while he never failed to 
manifest, when he felt it, his cordial approval of the manner in 
which his own instructions were carried out." 

The President had now concluded his annual message, and, in 
view of the sentiments expressed by the Governor of South Caro- 
lina, he determined to send to him a copy, in advance of its 
publication, by the hands of the Assistant Secretary of State, who, 
in view of the confidential relations he had held with the Presi- 
dent, was thoroughly informed upon the subject of the President's 
views. He could explain in Columbia what might be misunder- 
stood there, and, from the relations he held with the authorities 
in South Carolina, could bring back to the President a clear and 
reliable account of the state of feeling and opinions in the State, 
and thus prepare the way, if possible, to a peaceful solution of 
the difficulties. 

That the State would pass the ordinance of secession he was 
now convinced, and, in the uncertainty of the result of any issue 
made with the General Government, his chief anxiety was in ref- 
erence to the collection of the revenue and the safety of the forts. 

* Trescot's Narrative. 



34 77/^' GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

He was assured " that the people of South Carohna not only 
held the right of secession, but that they would take special pride 
in carrying out that right, regularly, peaceably, as a right, not as 
a revolutionary measure ; that I really believed it would mortify 
them to be compelled to resort to force ; that they would pass the 
ordinance of secession, and then send regularly accredited agents 
to negotiate with the Government." ' But,' said he, 'you know I 
cannot recognize them. All I can do is to refer them to Con- 
gress.' I told him that I believed such a reference, courte- 
ously made and in good faith, would be accepted, and that the 
State would wait a reasonable time for the decision of Congress. 
This he seemed to think would be sufficient, if the secession was 
inevitable; but still he was very cautious, and his great hope 
seemed to be, by temporizing, to avoid an issue before the 4th 
of March. 

"On Sunday night, when I saw him, he went over the old 
ground; said that he thought his message ought to be acceptable 
to the South; that he had spoken the truth, boldly and clearly; 
and that all he had declared was that, with regard to the laws and 
property of the United States, he would discharge the obligations 
of his ofificial oath, as far as his constitutional pov/ers enabled him. 

"I told him that I would take the message with pleasure, 
because it was a courtesy to the Executive of the State, and 
because I thought that, waiving the opinions expressed as to the 
right of secession, it was as conciliatory as it was possible for him 
to make it from his position; and, indeed, more so than I had 
expected. But that I must say, in candor, that it would have no 
effect upon the action of the Convention; that my recent letters sat- 
isfied me that the State would not only secede, but that it would 
secede immediately; that delay until the 4th of March was impos- 
sible; but that, having said that much, I was perfectly willing to 
take the message as he desired, and I felt confident that he might 
rely upon my assurances that there would be no violence used 
towards the forts by any unlawful assemblage or mob; that I had 
with me a letter from the Governor of the State, which I would 
read to him if he desired, and the tenor of which I then commu- 
nicated to him. He then asked me if I had seen General Cass. 
I said not that day; but that I had talked over the whole subject 
with him again and again, and we always ended where we began. 
He said, however, that I must see him when I left the White 



TRESCOT TAKES MESSAGE TO GOVERNOR GIST. 35 

House — he wished it, particularly — and repeat our conversation. 
I saw the General, of course, but our conversation was very brief. 
He said he was very sorry; he saw what was coming, but that 
nothing could prevent it. I left for Columbia on Monday morn- 
ing, where I arrived early on Wednesday." 

Governor Gist received the message of the President kindly, 
recognizing the courtesy of the communication, but at once 
declared that "the State was determined upon immediate seces- 
sion; that no scheme of policy, however plausible, could induce 
delay until the 4th of March, either in deference to Mr. Buchanan's 
position or with a view to the co-operation of other States," and 
the opinion of the South Carolina Legislature, then in session, was 
strong in support of this declaration. It was at the same time 
evident that an issue of force was not desired by the leaders in 
South Carolina, that the State would go on resolutely to the attain- 
ment of its end, and that, to avoid such an issue of force, it was 
believed in South Carolina that the Federal Government, how- 
ever it temporized, would have to concede the principle upon 
which the State stood. Satisfying himself that there was a strong 
feeling against any popular demonstration of force, either in vio- 
lation of the law or in the seizure of the public property, the 
Assistant Secretary returned to Washington and communicated at 
once to the President, in person, the result of his mission. During 
his absence the representatives of South Carolina had reached 
Washington, to take their seats in Congress. 

They were apprised of the precise condition of things, and of 
the views of the President, and upon the day after the return of 
the Assistant Secretary from South Carolina, he found them in 
the act of having their important interview. The Assistant Sec- 
retary had no authority to make any proposition or suggestion on 
behalf of the President to the Governor of the State. He was 
simply to deliver a copy of the message. He found, upon his 
arrival in Charleston, that he had been anticipated. He had hardly 
left Washington before M. L. Bonham, then a Member of Congress 
from South Carolina, and afterwards its Governor, telegraphed 
from Washington to Columbia of the mission of the Assistant 
Secretary. At the same time a letter from the same source was 
sent to the Governor of South Carolina, announcing the purpose 
and object of the visit of Mr. Trescot, who, upon his arrival, was 
at once made aware that no postponement of the call for a Con- 
vention to the 4th of March was now possible. 



CHAPTER IV. 

President recognizes condition of things — His message of 3d December, i860 — 
Its reception by his Cabinet — Resignation of Secretary of the Treasury, 
Mr. Cobb, who is succeeded by Mr. Thomas, of Maryland— Effort to pre- 
serve the mihtary status in Charleston Haibor— South Carolina delegation 
wait upon the President— Their interview— Written statement left with the 
President — Understanding of the delegation, of what was accomplished — 
Their impression— Explanation of Messrs. Miles and Keitt to the South 
Carolina Convention, of the understanding after Anderson's movement to 
Fort Sumter— Governor of South Carolina claims that the Government at 
Washington was pledged— Major Anderson not informed of it— Re- 
turn of Assistant Secretary of State from Charleston — His interview with 
the President— General Cass, Secretary of State, urges reinforcement of 
the forts— President declines — Resignation of the Secretary, who seeks to 
withdraw it— Declined by the President, who tenders to Judge Black, the 
Attorney-General, the position of Secretary of State. 

The President had now definitely determined upon a policy, 
which he maintained until the last. He knew that the country 
was waiting anxiously upon the words of his coming message. 
He had finally recognized the actual condition of things around 
him, but he equally felt that whatever view he might take, or 
whatever measure he might recommend to Congress, the State of 
South Carolina would in a few days, by a convention of her people, 
pass an ordinance of secession from the Federal Union. It was 
the last opportunity he could hope for, as the President, to use 
the power and prestige of his high office, and to exert any influence 
of a personal character that might remain to reconcile interests 
daily becoming more and more threatening to the existence of 
the Union. But while he believed that the cotton States would 
probably sever their connection with the Union, he thought that 
the border States might be secured. 

It was thus, alter much "serious reflection," that he arrived 
at his conclusions, which he announced in his message to Con- 
gress of the 3d of December, i860. 

In submitting this message to his Cabinet, it had met the 
warm approval of every member, except that part of it that denied 

36 



SECRE TARY OF THE TREA SURY RESIGNS. 3 7 

the right of secession and claimed it to be a national duty to 
defend the public property and to collect the revenue. 

It was this announcement that hastened the resignation of the 
Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Cobb, who had, however, pre- 
viously intimated his intention. He stated that, with his well- 
known views, the message of the President gave the opportunity 
for his resignation without harshness, and that he could be more 
useful at home, notwithstanding that he owed his position in Mr. 
Buchanan's Cabinet to the fact that during his canvass for the 
Governorship of Georgia he had made a powerful argument 
against the right and doctrine of secession. 

In his letter to the President resigning his position, he said, 
".A sense of duty to the State of Georgia requires me to take a 
step which makes it proper that I should no longer continue to 
be a member of your Cabinet." His remaining in the Cabinet 
would expose him to unjust suspicions and put Mr. Buchanan in 
a false position. His association with the President had been 
pleasant. "The evil has now passed," he said, "beyond control, 
and must be met by each and all of us, under our responsibility 
to God and our country;" and he believed that history would have 
to record the administration of Mr. Buchanan as the last one of 
our present Union, and would place it " side by side with the 
purest and ablest of those that preceded it." 

The place of Mr. Cobb was filled by Mr. Philip F. Thomas, 
of Maryland, who had formerly been its Governor. He differed, 
however, so widely from the President upon the questions imme- 
diately involved, that he remained in office but one month, giving 
way to the appointment to the Treasury Department of General 
John A. Dix, of New York. 

While positive action seemed to be suspended, both upon the 
part of the General Government and that of the State, a convic- 
tion had grown up in the minds of the people of South Carolina 
that the public property in their midst would certainly be theirs, 
either by negotiation or force, when the State should have formally 
passed the ordinance of secession from the Federal Union. That 
the State would pass such an ordinance, was generally believed, 
and, in the uncertainty of the result of any issue made with the 
General Government, it was deemed wise, if not essential, that 
until the Convention should meet and act, the " military status " 
that then existed in the harbor of Charleston should remain 



38 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

unchanged, and that some positive understanding or agreement 
should be had with the General Government, that would maintain 
the relative condition of things precisely as they were. To this 
end, on the 8th of December, the majority of the South Carolina 
delegation in Washington, with the exception of Mr. Ashmore, 
waited upon the President, who left a Cabinet meeting to confer 
with them. Rumors were rife that the forts in the harbor of 
Charleston were to be supplied and garrisoned, and it was known 
that the subject had engaged the attention of the Cabinet, and that 
some of the members were urgent that action should be taken. 
It was believed, too, by many, that the garrison of Fort Moultrie, 
on Sullivan's Island, was threatened by a mob and its safety 
imperilled, and the President himself was not without anxiety in 
regard to that command, as he stated to the delegation. He 
seemed much disturbed, and expressed a sense of the deep respon- 
sibility resting upon him to protect the lives of Major j^nderson 
and his command. The delegation replied to him that the 
news that reinforcements were on their way to Charleston would 
be the surest way to provoke what he seemed so anxious to 
avoid; that the general sentiment of the State was against 
any such proceeding, and that they felt satisfied that there would 
be no attempt to molest the forts in any way prior to the action 
of the Convention, then shortly to meet; that while they could not 
undertake to say what that body would see fit to do, they " hoped 
and believed" that nothing would be done until Commissioners 
should negotiate for the delivery to the State of the public property; 
and they stated that it was their " solemn belief " that any change 
in the existing status would in the excited state of feeling precipi- 
tate a collision. The President asked that a written memorandum 
of what was said should be given to him, and the following paper 
was handed to him on the loth of December:* 

" To His Excellency James Buchanan, 

'■'■President of the United States. 
" In compliance with our statement to you yesterday, we now 
express to you our strong convictions that neither the constituted 
authority nor any body of the people of the State of South Caro- 
lina will either attack or molest the United States forts in the 
harboi of Charleston previous to the act of the Convention, and. 



*Appendix to Journal of the Convention, 1860-61. Charleston, 1S61. 
Statement of Messrs. Miles and Keitt- 



INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT. 39 

we hope and believe, not until an offer has been made through 
an accredited representative to negotiate for an amicable arrange- 
ment of all matters between the State and the Federal Govern- 
ment; provided that no reinforcement shall be sent into those 
forts, and their relative military status shall remain as at present. 
"(Signed.) 

''John McQueen. 

" William Porcher Miles. 

" m. l. bonham. 

" W. W. Boyce. 

" Lawrence M. Keitt. 
"Washington, 9th December, i860." 

The President objected to the word " provided," because it 
looked as if he was to be bound, while there was no authority to 
bind or pledge the Convention. The delegation did not so under- 
stand it, and they endeavored to convince the President that the 
maintenance of the condition of things was wholly and absolutely 
in his power ; that if he maintained the existing condition of 
things, they believed that any collision would be avoided until an 
attempt at peaceable negotiation had failed. If he did not main- 
tain such condition, then a collision would inevitably, and at 
once, be precipitated. The whole effort of the delegates was 
directed to the avoidance of a collision until peaceable negotia- 
tion had failed. The words "military status" were commented 
upon, and the delegation expressly stated that the transfer of the 
garrison of Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter would be equivalent to 
a reinforcement, and would as certainly lead to a collisioii as the 
sending of fresh troops. As the delegates rose to go, the Presi- 
dent said, substantially, " After all, this is a matter of honor 
among gentlemen; I do not know that any paper or writing is 
necessary; we understand each other." But not yet satisfied that 
they were thoroughly understood, one of the delegation observed: 
" Mr. President, you have determined to let things remain as they 
are, and not to send reinforcements; but suppose you should here- 
after change your policy for any reason, what then ? That would 
put us, who are willing to use our personal influence to prevent 
any attack upon the forts before commissioners are sent on to 
Washington, in rather an embarrassing position." The President at 
once remarked, " Then I would first return you this paper." The 
impression made upon the delegation, as the result of this inter- 
view, was that the President was wavering, and had not wholly 



40 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

decided as to what course he would pursue. The importance of 
this interview cannot be over-estimated. By it a conviction was 
established in the minds of i;he p2ople, not only of South Caro- 
lina, but of the entire South, that the status then existing would 
be .maintained under the most solemn assurances. When, there- 
fore, his officer in Charleston Harbor made his sudden movement to 
Fort Sumter, and the President failed to restore the status, it gave 
rise to serious accusations of breach of faith, and of his failure to 
keep his pledged word. It is fortunate that the views held by 
either party to the interview, and of its obligation, are matters of 
record. On the 4th of January, 1861, in the secret session of the 
Convention of South Carolina, a resolution was passed, calling 
upon Messrs. Miles and Keitt, two of the late Representatives in 
Congress, for a statement " setting forth exactly the understand- 
ing which existed between them and the President of the United 
States, and the circumstances which attended that understand- 
ing." The statement was duly furnished to the Convention,* in 
which " a full and exact account of what passed between the Pres- 
ident and the delegation " was recited, as well as their conception 
of what they believed had been secured at that interview. They 
held that the understanding, or " agreement," was a '* pledge;" that 
the President, in putting the matter upon the high footing " as a 
matter of honor among gentlemen, in which no paper or writing 
is necessary," was acting in a double capacity, '' not only as a gen- 
tleman whose share in carrying out the agreement was potential, 
but as the head of the army, and therefore having the absolute 
control of the whole matter of reinforcing or transferring the gar- 
rison at Charleston." The delegation left the President, consid- 
ering him after their interview as bound in honor, if not by treaty 
stipulation, not to make any change in the status then existing in 
Charleston Harbor, while all of the delegation, and especially 
those who had been elected to the Convention, felt equally bound 
to do everything on their part to prevent any premature collision. 
The authorities of the State of South Carolina had taken a similar 
view. On the 2d of January, in a communication to Brigadier- 
General Simons, commanding the Fourth Brigade of the South 
Carolina Militia, the Governor stated that there was, when he 
came to the city, a " distinct pledge of faith between the Gov- 



Statement of Messrs, Miles and Keitt to South Carolina Convention, 



GOVERNOR PICfCENS CLAIMS A ''PLEDGED 4 1 

ernment at Washington and those who had a right to speak for 
South Carolina, that everything in the harbor and all the forts 
should remain precisely as they then were, and that there should 
be no increase of force or any reinforcements sent from abroad 
until our Commissioners presented themselves at Washington and 
made regular negotiations for the forts. I acted with confidence 
upon this pledge.* Suddenly we were surprised at the step 
taken by Major Anderson, now acknowledged and proclaimed by 
the late Secretary of War to be in open violation of the faith of 
the Government.!" On the 3d of January, in his message to the 
Legislature, the Governor formally stated that "it was distinctly 
understood" that those who had a right to pledge the parties on 
both sides had agreed that the status in the harbor should in no 
way be disturbed until the Commissioners to be sent by the State 
should present themselves at Washington. There was no positive 
stipulation entered into. The delegation was not empowered to 
bind the Convention or the State in any way, and were in no way 
accredited for any like purpose. They assumed, "as gentlemen" 
and in view of their prominent position, to indicate the course and 
policy of the State, and they claimed that this "very fact" should 
have made the President more ready to strengthen their hands to 
bring about and carry out that course and policy which he pro- 
fessed to have as much at heart as they had. J How the Presi- 
dent himself came to look upon this " understanding, " or "agree- 
ment," when late in December the secession ordinance had been 
passed by the Convention of South Carolina and Major Ander- 
son had transferred his command from Fort Moultrie to Fort 
Sumter, will be seen in his answer to the South Carolina Commis- 
sioners in a subsequent part of this narrative. But, however the 
President or his advisers may have regarded it, it was not deemed 
essential that Major Anderson should be informed of it. It was 
not anticipated that he or his command would change the existing 
status, but that anything requiring such action would be referred 
to Washington. Hardly had the interview between the President 
and the South Carolina delegation terminated, when the Assistant 



* Journals of both Houses, p. 148. Journal of the Senate, January 4, 
1861. Governor's Message. 

t Pickens in reply to General Simons 's report, Record of Sumter, 1862, 
p. 17. 

X Statement of Messrs. Miles and Keitt to the South Carolina Convention. 



42 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Secretary of State was announced, and a long conference with the 
President took place. The President referred to his interview 
with the delegation, and expressed his great satisfaction at the 
character of the paper presented to him by them. 

" He then showed me a paper," says the Assistant Secretary, 
" signed by all of them but Colonel Ashmore, the paper which he 
afterwards quoted in his letter to the Commissioners. He ap- 
peared to be much gratified and relieved by it, and said that he 
had asked them to see me and he would then have a talk with me. 
I told him I had not seen them, but that the paper did not 
go any further, if as far, as the Governor's letter which I had 
communicated to him. 

"What letter ?" said he. " I do not recollect it; and when did 
you show it to me ?" 

" The evening," I replied, " on which you gave me your mes- 
sage to carry to Columbia." He said he did not remember it. 

" Have you got it ?" 

I said it was at my house, and I could get it in a few minutes; 
and that, as the Secretary of the Interior had just come in, I would 
leave them to their business while I went for it. I brought it back 
with me, and read it to the President in Mr. Thompson's presence. 
We then discussed it and the whole subject, and I told the Presi- 
dent that my visit confirmed exactly what I had said to him before 
I went. 

"Well," said he, "that is all very well up to the point where 
the negotiation stops, for Congress may refuse to entertain it." 

" Then, sir," said I, "I will speak with the most perfect can- 
dor: the State will take the forts. What else can she do, if she 
is in earnest ? But I hope the negotiation will not fail." And I 
added : 

" Mr. President, why keep troops in the forts at all ? If I under- 
stand your message rightly, you consider them simply as prop- 
erty, just as you do the Post Office, the Custom House and the 
Sub-Treasury buildings. You don't propose to guard them, do 
you ?" 

He said "No." 

" Then," said I, " why not treat the forts precisely in the same 
manner.? — keep an orderly-sergeant and one or two men there 
only." 

He said he had great faith in the honor of the State; and that 



CHANGES IN THE CABINET. 



43 



the Governor's letter and the memorandum of the Carolina dele- 
gation were a guarantee, he believed, that nothing violent would 
be done; that he would receive the Commissioners kindly and 
refer the whole matter to Congress, and so on, traveling round in 
the same circle; and I took my leave. Soon after my return I 
placed my resignation, dated the loth of December, in the hands 
of General Cass. When I went into his room to give it to him, 
he begged me to keep it for a day or two, for events might render 
it unnecessary — at least he perhaps could not act on it. He said 
he could not speak more plainly, but the next day he would explain 
all, although I probably understood him. This, of course, I knew 
meant only one thing. From the beginning of the controversy he 
had held but one opinion and one language, and he had now sub- 
mitted to the President the alternative of reinforcing the forts or 
accepting his resignation; and the next day, the President having 
refused to consent to this course, he resigned. Under the circum- 
stances, I felt bound to say to the President that I would continue 
in office until he had appointed a new Secretary, provided the ap- 
pointment was made before the ordinance of secession was passed 
by the Convention. For the refusal to adopt the advice of General 
Cass was in the interest of the State, and it would have embarrassed 
the President very much to have had the Department without 
either a Secretary or Assistant Secretary. Judge Black the Attor- 
ney-General, who was appointed General Cass's successor, was 
very busy in the Supreme Court, and it was not, I think, before 
the 17th that I fairly ceased official action at the Department, 
and the 20th before Judge Black acknowledged the resignation 
left with General Cass." 

Meantime, a despatch had arrived from Major Anderson stating 
that he felt secure in his position, and this, in connection with the 
influence exercised by the Southern members of the Cabinet, in- 
duced the President to change his purpose, and reinforcements 
were not sent to the forts in Charleston Harbor, In consequence, 
the Secretary of State now submitted to the President, in the 
presence of the Cabinet, a paper recommending the immediate 
reinforcement of the forts in the harbor of Charleston. The 
President received it without comment, and a few days later Gen- 
eral Cass tendered his resignation. 

In a previous interview with the Attorney-General, General 
Cass had intimated to him his intention to resign his office, He 



44 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

was asked by Judge Black if he had communicated his intention to 
the President, when he replied that he had not yet. Subsequently, 
the resignation of General Cass was carried by Judge Black to 
the President. Two days afterward, the Secretary called upon 
Judge Black, and said to him that he had been hasty in tendering 
his resignation; that he had yielded to a pressure brought upon 
him by those about him, who had, in a measure, compelled him 
to it; that, upon reflection, he thought that the matter involved 
was a question that belonged to the War Department rather than 
to his own, and that he desired to withdraw his resignation, and 
requested Judge Black to mention his wish to the President. In 
an interview which took place soon after, the wish of General Cass 
was mentioned by Judge Black to the President, who declined to 
return his resignation to General Cass, and who at once tendered 
to Judge Black the position of Secretary of State, which was 
accepted, with the understanding that Edwin M. Stanton should 
receive the appointment of Attorney-General. The resignation 
of General Cass took effect on the 14th of December, when he 
left the Cabinet, 



CHAPTER V. 

South Carolina Convention meets at Columbia — Organizes — Speech of President 
Jamison — Character of the Convention — Its composition — Relations to 
previous conventions— Committee to draft an ordinance of Secession ap- 
pointed — Adjournment to Charleston — Impatience of the people — Assembles 
at Institute Hall — Enthusiasm — Session of the Convention — Its proceedings 
bearing upon the public property in the harbor — Various resolutions adopt- 
ed with reference to the Government at Washington— Committees ap- 
pointed to report ordinance for Convention to form a Southern Confed- 
eracy — Chancellor Inglis, of Chesterfield, reports ordinance of Secession — 
Passed unanimously — Governor and Legislature invited to be present at 
Institute Hall to witness the signing of ordinance — Great enthusiasm as 
procession passed — Hall crowded — Ordinance signed by every member — 
President announces the State of South Carolina an independent common- 
wealth — Quiet adjournment — Excitement of the people. 

Promptly on the morning of the 17th of December, the Con- 
vention met at Columbia, without a single absentee, and proceeded 
to organize by calling to the chair Mr. D. F. Jamison, of Barnwell. 
Upon taking his place Mr. Jamison announced that it was their 
fixed determination to throw off a Government to which they had 
been accustomed, and to provide for their future safety; that if 
anything had been decided by the elections for a Convention, it 
was that South Carolina must dissolve her connection with the 
Confederacy as speedily as possible. Overtures from without were 
to be feared, and he trusted " that the door is forever closed to all 
further connection with our Northern confederates;" and he 
closed his speech by advising the South, as did Danton at the 
commencement of the French Revolution, " To dare ! and again 
to dare ! and without end to dare." 

Having been elected as permanent President of the Conven- 
tion, Mr. Jamison said, in a short speech, that there was no honor 
he should esteem more highly than to sign the ordinance of seces- 
sion as a member of the Convention, but to sign it as its President 
would be the greatest honor of his life. 

In view of the subsequent action of this body, and that by it 
secession was inaugurated in the South, it is instructive as well as 

45 



46 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WA^. 

interesting to glance at its composition, its character and capacity, 
and to follow in part its career. 

When the call for a Convention was presented to the people 
of South Carolina it found them not unprepared. They well knew 
the object of its creation. Twice before, in her history. South 
Carolina had called conventions of her people to consider what 
steps should be taken to resist what she considered the infringe- 
ment of her sovereignty by the General Government. It is true 
that her Nullification Ordinance and her legislative acts dependent 
upon it in 1832, were rendered nugatory by the passage of Mr. 
Clay's Compromise Tariff of the 12th of February, 1833; it is true 
that the general acquiescence of the Southern States in the 
compromise measures of the same great statesman in 1850 (but 
which she regarded as a surrender of the whole matter at issue) 
had induced her to forego secession; still, the spirit that had 
animated these conventions survived. 

Men that had sat in them, as well as those who by pamphlet 
or speech had been conspicuous in their advocacy of the right of 
secession, were taken up by the people and returned by large 
majorities. For a whole generation the people of South Carolina 
had discussed the question of separation from the Federal Union, 
and when asked again to vote for a Convention for the purpose of 
taking into consideration the dangers incident to the position of 
the State in the Federal Union, to take measures for providing 
against the same, and to take care that the Commonwealth suffered 
no detriment, they knew well what was expected of them, and they 
cordially and eagerly responded to the summons, by the election 
of a body of men as unanimous in sentiment, as calm and deliber- 
ate in feeling, but as earnest and able, as ever assembled in any 
State of the Union. This Convention of i860, unlike the Legis- 
lature that called it into being, was a body of elderly men. Half 
of its members were upwards of fifty years old; three-fourths 
were over thirty-five. A large proportion had occupied prominent 
public positions; four — R. Barnwell Rhett, Robert W. Barnwell, 
William F. De Saussure and James Chesnut, Jr. — had represented 
South Carolina in the Senate of the United States; two of these, 
Messrs. Barnwell and Rhett, had previously served in the lower 
House; and one, James L. Orr, had also once been Speaker of 
the House of Representatives. Five — J. P. Richardson, J. H. 
Means, John L. Manning, J. H. Adams, and W. H. Gist — had 



Composition of convention. 



47 



been Governors of the State. The Honorable I. W. Hayne had 
been for ten years Attorney-General. 

The Judiciary was largely represented. Elected by the 
Legislature, and for life, with ample support to maintain the 
dignity of the position, their office was scarcely deemed second, 
in point of honorable distinction, to the United States senatorship 
itself. In this Convention were ex-United States Judge A. G. 
Magrath; Chancellor Benjamin Dunkin, afterwards the Chief 
Justice, a native of Massachusetts; Chancellors Wardlaw, Carroll, 
and Inglis, a native of Maryland; Judges Withers, Glover, Whit- 
ner, and D. L. Wardlaw. There were leading lawyers from dif- 
ferent portions of the State. Eminent clergymen of the Baptist 
and Methodist churches, railroad presidents, large manufacturers 
and influential planters and merchants. Eight of the delegates 
had been members of the State Convention of 1833, which nulli- 
fied the Protective Tariff Acts of 1828 and 1832. Twenty-eight 
had been members of the State Convention of 1852, when the 
question of the status of the territory acquired by the Mexican 
war was under discussion; a Convention that affirmed the right of 
the State to secede from the Federal Union, and that declared 
that " the frequent violations of the Constitution of the United 
States by the General Government and its encroachments upon 
the reserved rights of the sovereign States of the Union, especially 
in relation to slavery, amply justify this State, so far as any duty 
or obligation to her confederates was involved, in dissolving at 
once all political connection with her co-States, and that she for- 
bears the exercise of this manifest right of self-government, from 
considerations of expediency only," viz., the want of co-opera- 
tion. 

Original and thorough-going secessionists were in a minority 
in the Convention. Those who were formerly of the co-operation 
party largely predominated. There was an element of over-cau- 
tion in the Convention, that showed itself abundantly in the 
shrinking, temporizing policy in regard to Fort Sumter, and in the 
elaborate and repeated efforts at peaceful diplomacy, which 
drifted the State with the issue unsettled to the time when the 
incoming administration, seated firmly in power, were ready to use 
the whole power of the Government upon the first hostile move- 
ment made upon the public property or upon the flag. 

Hardly had the Convention assembled at Columbia when a 



4§ THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

resolution was introduced by Chancellor J. A. Inglis to the ef- 
fect that " it is the opinion of the Convention that the State 
should forthwith secede from the Federal Union known as 
the United States of America, and that a committee be appoint- 
ed to draft an ordinance to be adopted by the Convention in- 
order to accomplish this purpose of secession." (FzV^ Journal 
of Convention, i860, p. 13.) It passed without a dissenting 
voice. 

Meantime, a contagious disease having broken out in the city, 
the Convention resolved to change its session to Charleston, and 
it reassembled in that city on the i8th. Already the impatience 
of the people began to be manifested, and open dissatisfaction was 
expressed that the Secession Ordinance had not been passed before 
adjournment to Charleston; and Mr. W. P. Miles, a delegate from 
Charleston, earnestly opposed the resolution to adjourn to that 
city, " or anywhere else," until the Secession Ordinance should be 
passed. There appeared to be but one unanimous sentiment, and 
that was for immediate separation from the Union. If any attach- 
ment remained for the old Union, it was not manifested. Argu- 
ment had exhausted itself after a discussion of thirty years, and 
the sole question now was as to the manner of accomplishing the 
object in view. There was no place for mild counsels, and as one 
by one the links that connected them with the Government were 
broken the enthusiasm of the people grew more and more intense, 
until, firm as one mind in what they believed to be the right, and 
sustained by the confident hope of a united South, the people of 
South Carolina did not hesitate to go steadily on in the course 
marked out for them, until it brought them face to face with the 
General Government, and at a point from which neither felt that 
they could retire. 

No concession, no compromise, no constitutional guarantee 
was now possible to an amicable arrangement that had not for its 
basis the separation and independence of the State; the people 
scorned the idea of compromise, and it was under these auspices 
and in view of a future clearly determined upon, that the Conven- 
tion of South Carolina reassembled in Charleston on the i8th of 
December. 

In the large room of Institute Hall, the Convention reassem- 
bled at 4 o'clock on the afternoon of the iSth of December. 
Crowds of excited people thronged the streets and open squares 



Secession ball. 



49 




INSTITUTE OR SECESSION HALL. 



56 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIV^IL WAR. 



of the city, and filled the passage and stairways of the hall. Con- 
gratulations were exchanged on every side, while earnest dissatis- 
faction was freely expressed that the passage of the Secession 
Ordinance had been delayed. 

Blue cockades* and cockades of palmetto appeared in almost 
every hat; flags of all descriptions, except the National colors, 
were everywhere displayed. Upon the gavel that lay upon the 
Speaker's table, the word "Secession" had been cut in deep 
black characters.! The enthusiasm spread to the more practical 
walks of trade, and the business streets were gay with bunting and 
flags, as the tradespeople, many of whom were Northern men, 
commended themselves to the popular clamor by a display of 
coarse representations on canvas]]; of the public men, and of the 
incidents daily presenting themselves, and of the brilliant future 
in store for them. 

The session of the Convention lasted but one hour; there was 
great unanimity. After a resolution for a committee to prepare 
an address to the people of the Southern States, at the head of 
which was Mr. R. B. Rhett, Judge Magrath moved, " That so much 
of the message of the President of the United States as relates 
to what he designates ' the property of the United States in 
South Carolina,' be referred to a committee of thirteen to report 
of what such property consists, how acquired, and whether the 
purpose for which it was so acquired can be enjoyed by the United 
States, after the State of South Carolina shall have seceded, con- 
sistently with the dignity and safety of the State; and that the 
said committee further report the value of the property of the 
United States not in South Carolina, and the value of the share 
thereof to which South Carolina would .be entitled upon an equi- 
table division thereof among the United States." And it was made 
the order of the day for one o'clock the next day, when it was 
unanimously adopted. 

To enable the speakers to be better heard, the Convention 



* Cockades had been worn during the Nullification excitement. 

t Personal observation. 

X One canvas represented Judge Magrath in the act of firing a piece of 
artillery in his library; another represented Mr. Lincoln endeavoring to split a 
palmetto log; while a third showed the anticipated prosperity of Charleston, 
the wharves crowded with cotton bales and negroes, and the harbor filled with 
shipping. 



ACTION OF THE CONVENTION. 



51 



adjourned their session to a building known as St. Andrews Hall, 
and here the question of the Government property in the harbor 
was first discussed. 

From the very initiation of the movement the State, however 
unwillingly, found herself involved with the General Government. 
At this period peaceable separation was the undoubted wish of 
all. Those who desired a conflict with the Government were few 
indeed; and while the most sagacious of the leaders knew that to 
preserve the Union there would be war, it was essential that this 
should not appear. It was vital, at least in the initiation of the 
movement, that there should be no conflict until a united South 
could speak and act ; and the whole course of those who now led 
the movement was undoubtedly in favor of a peaceful solution of 
the difficulties daily presenting themselves. Not that either the 
people or the leaders shrank from any issue necessary to success- 
ful separation, but, in order to induce and to secure the hearty 
co-operation of the people, and thus involve them in a common 
risk and a common cause, it was necessary to induce the belief 
that the separation of the State would be peaceful. 

On the 19th the Convention reassembled at St. Andrews Hall, 
when the President of the Convention submitted a communica- 
tion from J. A. Elmore, the Commissioner from Alabama, enclos- 
ing a telegram received on the night of the 17 th from Governor 
A. B. Moore, of Alabama. 

" Tell the Convention," said he, " to listen to no propositions 
of compromise or delay;" and Mr. Elmore assures the President 
of the Convention that the Governor " offers it " in no spirit of 
dictation, but as the friendly counsel and united voice of the true 
men of Alabama. 

After some discussion, it was determined that no reports of 
the speeches should be made or permitted. Propositions were 
made to sit with closed doors, in order that the Convention might 
keep in their own hands all reports of their proceedings. Doors 
were closed to all but' the members. Several of the delegates 
who were absent when the vote was taken upon the resolution, 
that it was the sense of the Convention that the State should 
forthwith withdraw from the Union, now appeared and asked to 
have their votes recorded in the affirmative. 

The special order of the day being the resolution in reference 
to ftiat part of the message of the President of the United States 



52 TH& GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WA^. 

which refers to the property of the United States in South Caro- 
lina, it was considered, and a committee of thirteen was appointed, 
at the head of which was A. G. Magrath, to report to the Conven- 
tion upon the resolution.* 

It was resolved, also, to send three commissioners, bearing an 
authenticated copy of the Secession Ordinance to Washington to 
be laid before the President and Congress. And, also, that these 
commissioners should be empowered to treat for the delivery of 
the forts, magazines, and other "real estate;" and they were au- 
thorized to treat of the public debt, and for a division of all the 
property held by the United States as the agents of the States, 
and until a new Confederacy should be formed. This latter reso- 
lution was referred to the "Committee on Foreign Relations."! 

As on the previous day, the feeling exhibited was intense; 
each man, through the day, as he met his neighbor, anxiously 
asked if the Ordinance had yet passed. The public offices were 
all thronged by earnest men awaiting the final action of their 
State. Deep-settled purpose was apparent upon the countenances 
of all, and a determination everywhere manifested to stand by the 
State in her action to the last. The Convention was composed 
of men in whom the people had the utmost confidence, and with 
anxious hearts they awaited the result of their deliberations. Not 
to be behind in any effort to advance the movement, and at the 
same time to afford security to the State, the Board of Pilot Com- 
missioners compelled the pilots to promise that they would not 
bring any United States vessels into the harbor. 

Early on the morning of the 20th knots of men were seen 
gathered here and there through the main streets and squares of 
Charleston. The Convention was not to meet until 12 o'clock, 
but it was understood that the Committee were ready to report 
the Ordinance of Secession, and that it would certainly pass the 
Convention that day. The report soon spread. Although this 
action had been fully anticipated, there was a feverish anxiety to 



* As the proceedings of the Convention have been published, reference is 
here made only to those resolutions referring to the public property and to 
Fort bumter. 

\ Other resolutions were introduced to define the status of the State, in 
view of her new relations to the General Government, and among them one to 
determine the amount of legislation of Congress that had been abrogated by 
secession, and how much remained in force, notwithstanding that act 



THE FEELING IN CHARLESTON. 53 

know that the secession of the State was really accomplished, and 
as the hour of noon approached, crowds of people streamed along 
the avenues towards St. Andrew's Hall and filled the approaches. A 
stranger passing from the excited throng outside into the hall of 
the Convention would be struck with the contrast. Ordinary busi- 
ness was quietly disposed of; the Mayor and Governor and the 
officials of the Legislature were invited to seats upon the floor; 
committees authorized by previous resolutions were announced 
by the President, the more noticeable being that of the late United 
States Judge Magrath, to head the Committee on so much of 
the President's message as related to the property in the harbor, 
and W. P. Miles on Foreign Relations looking to the ordeal in 
Washington. Quietly the Convention had met, and had been 
opened with prayer to God. There was no excitement. There 
was no visible sign that the Commonwealth of South Carolina was 
about to take a step more momentous for weal or woe than had 
yet been known in her history. 

Then followed the introduction of a resolution by Mr. R. B. 
Rhett, that a committee of thirteen be appointed to report an 
ordinance providing for a convention to form a Southern Con- 
federacy, as important a step as the secession of the State itself. 
It was referred to the appropriate committee, when Chancellor 
Inglis of Chesterfield, the Chairman of the Committee to report 
an ordinance proper of secession, arose and called the attention 
of the President. 

An immediate silence pervaded the whole assemblage as every 
eye turned upon the speaker. Addressing the chair, he said that 
the Committee appointed to prepare a draft of an ordinance proper, 
to be adopted by the Convention in order to effect the secession 
of South Carolina from the Federal Union, respectfully report 
that they have had the matter under consideration, and believe 
that they would best meet the exigencies of the occasion by 
expressing in the fewest and simplest words all that was necessary 
to effect the end proposed, and so to exclude everything which 
was not a necessary part of the " solemn act of secession." They 
therefore submitted the following: 

Ordinance 

to dissolve the Union from the State of South Carolina and other 
States united with her under the compact entitled " The Consti- 
tution of the United States of America." 

We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in convention 



54 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and 
ordained, that the Ordinance adopted by us in convention, on the 
23d day of May, in the year of our Lord, seventeen hundred and 
eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States was 
ratified, and also all the acts and part of acts of the General 
Assembly of this State ratifying amendments of the said Consti- 
tution, are hereby repealed, and that the union now subsisting 
between South Carolina and other States under the name of 
"United States of America" is hereby dissolved. 

A proposition that business be suspended for fifteen minutes 
was not agreed to, and the question was at once put, with the 
result of a unanimous vote, at i : 30 p. m., of 169 yeas, nays none. 
An immediate struggle for the floor ensued. Mr. W. Porcher 
Miles moved that an immediate telegram be sent to the Members 
of Congress, at Washington, announcing the result of the vote 
and the Ordinance of Secession. It was then resolved to invite 
the Governor and both branches of the Legislature to Institute 
Hall, at seven o'clock in the evening, and that the Convention 
should move in procession to that hall, and there, in the presence 
of the constituted authorities of the State and the people, sign the 
Ordinance of Secession. That a clergyman* of the city should be 
invited to attend, and upon the completion of the signing of the 
Ordinance, he should " return thanks to Almighty God in behalf 
of the people of this State and to invoke His blessings upon our 
proceedings." The Ordinance was then turned over to the Attor- 
ney-General and solicitors to be engrossed. 

The invitations to the Senate and House of Representatives 
having been accepted, the Convention moved in procession at the 
hour indicated to Institute Hall, amid the crowds of citizens that 
thronged the streets, cheermg loudly as it passed. The galleries 
of the hall were crowded with ladies, who waved their handker- 
chiefs to the Convention as it entered, with marked demon- 
stration. On either side of the President's chair were two large 
palmetto trees. The Hall was densely crowded. The Ordinance, 
having been returned engrossed and with the great seal of the 
State, attached by the Attorney-General, was presented and was 
signed by every member of the Convention, special favorites 
being received with loud applause. f Two hours were thus occupied. 



* Dr. Bachman was the one invited. 

t Delegates from St. Pauls and St Michaels; also Mr. Rhett, Governor 
Gist and others. 



PASSAGE OF SECESSION ORDINANCE. 



55 



The President then announced that " the Ordinance of Secession 
has been signed and ratified, and I proclaim the State of South 
Carolina," said he, "an independent Commonwealth." 

At once the whole audience broke out into a storm of cheers; 
the ladies again joined in the demonstration; a rush was made for 
the palmetto trees, which were torn to pieces in the effort to 
secure mementos of the occasion. As soon as the passage of the 
Secession Ordinance at St. Andrews Hall was accomplished, a 
messenger left the house and rode with the greatest speed to the 
camp of the First Regiment of Rifles, South Carolina Militia, 
Colonel Pettigrew, one mile distant, where in front of the paraded 
regiment the Ordinance was read amid the loud acclamations of 
the men. 

The adjournment of the Convention was characterized by the 
same dignity that had marked its sessions. Outside, the whole 
city was wild with excitement as the news spread like wild-fire 
through its streets. Business was suspended everywhere; the 
peals of the church bells mingling with salvos of artillery from the 
citadel. Old men ran shouting down the street. Every one 
entitled to it, appeared at once in uniform. In less then fifteen 
minutes after its passage, the principal newspaper of Charleston 
had placed in the hands of the eager multitude a copy of the 
Ordinance of Secession. Private residences were illuminated, 
while military organizations marched in every direction, the music 
of their bands lost amid the shouts of the people. The whole 
heart of the people had spoken. Men in elegant life, who had 
never known labor for a day, stood side by side with the " poor 
white" from the towns and the country. From the quiet planta- 
tion, from the factory and the workshop, from the sand-hills in the 
interior and the cities on her coast, the manhood of South Carolina 
hastened without condition to offer themselves and their services 
to their State. 



CHAPTER VI 

Colonel Gardiner at Moultrie — Makes requisition for Ordnance Stores — Issue 
made — Excitement in consequence — Telegrams to Washington — Relieved 
by Major Anderson — Sketch of a letter of Anderson to War Department, 
24th of November — Importance of this letter — Force under Anderson — 
Work going on — Attempt to enroll workmen— Correspondence with War 
Department on the subject. 

The old and worthy soldier who commanded the post of Fort 
Moultrie was slow to awaken to the reality of his position. As 
early as the month of October the engineer officer had suggested 
to his chief in Washington that a few small-arms should be 
placed in the hands of his workmen at Fort Sumter for the pro- 
tection of the Government property in that work. The Chief 
of Ordnance* approved of the suggestion, and recommended to 
the Secretary of War that, with the concurrence of the command- 
ing officer of the troops in the harbor, he might be authorized to 
issue forty muskets to the engineer officer. This proposition was 
approved by the Secretary and submitted to the commanding 
officer at Fort Moultrie for his approval and action, who replied 
that he saw no objection to the "propriety" of the issue. The 
workmen were bound by the principles of common law, as well 
as by the articles of war, to defend the public property in their 
charge. As to the "expediency," it was another question; that 
most of the 109 laborers in Fort Sumter were of foreign nation- 
ality, of whom it is prudent to be somewhat suspicious, were 
indifferent as to which side they took, and could at any moment 
discharge themselves of their obligations, and take any side they 
saw fit. That while some might be safely trusted with arms, 
others might not be, and unless some precaution was taken to 
keep the arms from the latter class, they might deliver up the 
post " on a bribe or demand." He thought that the only proper 
precaution was to fill up his companies with drilled recruits, 
fifty men, and to occupy Fort Sumter and Castle Pinckney.f 



* Colonel Craig, Chief of Ordnance, to Secretary of War. W. of R., j 
ser., I vol., p. 60. 

t Colonel Gardiner tg Chief of Ordnance, November 5, i860, 

56 



ATTEMPT TO SUPPLY MOULTRIE. 



57 



The issue being contingent upon the approval of Colonel 
Gardiner, was, in view of his communication, not made, and the 
requisition remained unacted upon in the hands of the military 
storekeeper of the arsenal. But the military stores at Fort Moul- 
trie were diminishing daily, and no effort was made to replace 
them until, urged by the repeated solicitation of his oflficers, the 
commanding officer finally made an attempt to replenish them 
from the arsenal at Charleston, and that effort cost him his posi- 
tion. On the 7th of November he directed that a list of what 
was immediately necessary should be made out and sent to the 
military storekeeper at the arsenal.* The list was confined to 
fixed ammunition for small-arms, consisting principally of mus- 
ket cartridges, percussion caps, primers, etc , and also of hand- 
grenades, and paint and lacquer and priming-tubes. There was 
a deficiency in the first, and there were none of the last on hand 
that were serviceable. The military storekeeper had informed 
the proper officer that he had these stores on hand for issue, and 
this was the usual and official mode of obtaining supplies — a mat- 
ter of ordnance routine. But the existence of a hostile and 
excited feeling in Charleston in regard to the forts was well known 
to the commandant of Fort Moultrie. The arsenal was already 
watched by the troops of the State by night; and in view of this, 
and in order to avoid observation, it was thought advisable to put 
the soldiers detailed for the duty in citizens' dress and send them 
in a schooner to a private wharf near the arsenal. The object of 
the disguise was to avoid drawing attention to the men employed, 
and from the apprehension of a collision. Before the schooner 
started, the appearance of the men in citizens' dress attracted the 
attention of the people on the island, and developed the fact that 
the movements of the men were watched. Information was sent 
at once to Charleston. The men embarked upon the schooner 
and proceeded to the arsenal wharf, which ran some distance 
back into the town. Proceeding to the arsenal under Brevet- 
Captain Seymour, who had accompanied them, arrangements were 
made with the military storekeeper to transfer the required ammu- 
nition on board the schooner. Some carts had been sent for to 
the city, but failing from some reason to arrive, the single cart 
at the arsenal was employed to transport the boxes. While this 



* Porter's Report, November II, i860. 



5« 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



was in progress (some of the boxes having been already put on 
board) a citizen made his appearance and informed the corporal 
in charge of the men that the proceeding must stop, and that no 
more ammunition must be transferred. The corporal went at 
once to the arsenal and informed the officer m charge, who pro- 
ceeded to the wharf to inquire the cause of the interference. He 
was mformed by a citizen that the wharf was a private one, that 
it was his property, and that he would not permit anythmg of thai 
character to leave it, unless by permission of the authorities; 
that he had sent word to them, and that they would soon be down. 
Captain Seymour expostulated, but the citizen was firm, and said 
that he could and would prevent it; that he only needed to raise 
his hand, and he could get one hundred men from a factory near 
by. It was thought better to avoid a collision, as a crowd had 
collected; and the boxes were removed from the vessel, which had 
grounded in the stream, where she was soon after visited by the 
authorities. On the next morning Captain Seymour was sent to 
the Mayor, who gave the requisite permission, which Colonel 
Gardiner, the commanding officer of Fort Moultrie, then declined 
to avail himself of, as the city authorities had no right in any way 
to control his supplies. Meantime, and without delay, a tele- 
gram had been sent to the Assistant Secretary of State at Wash- 
ington, reciting the facts, and saying that if the removal of the 
ammunition was by order of the War Department it ought to be 
revoked, otherwise collision was inevitable. 

What took place in Washington is thus described in the words 
of the Assistant Secretary of State himself: 

" After the call of the Convention, but before the election of 
members of that body, just as I was sitting down to dinner one 
day, I received a telegram from Charleston, saying that intense 
excitement prevailed in the city, on account of the removal by 
Colonel Gardiner, then in command at Fort Moultrie, of some 
arms and ammunition from the United States arsenal in the city 
to the fort, and that if the removal was by orders from the Depart- 
ment of War it ought to be revoked, otherwise collision was 
inevitable. Knowing that the Cabinet were then in session, I 
went over immediately to the White House, and met the members 
coming from the President's room. I took Governor Floyd aside, 
and he was joined, I think, by Messrs. Cobb and Toucey, and 
showed them the telegram. 



EFFECT IN WASHINGTON. 



59 



Governor Floyd replied, 'Telegraph back at once; say you 
have seen me, that no such orders have been issued, and none 
such will be issued under any circumstances.' 

"This I did immediately. When, a day or two after, I received 
letters giving me a more detailed account of the whole transac- 
tion, I again saw Governor Floyd, who communicated to me in a 
very full conversation, the official information he had received, 
his impressions of the folly of Colonel Gardiner's conduct, and 
his final determination to remove him and supply his place with 
Major Robert Anderson, in whose discretion, coolness and judg- 
ment he put great confidence. He also determined to send Col- 
onel Ben. Huger to take charge of the arsenal, believing that his 
high reputation, his close association with many of the most influ- 
ential people in Charleston, and the fact of his being a Carolinian, 
would satisfy the State of the intentions of the Government." 

The action of Colonel Gardiner in his legitimate attempt to 
replenish his stores from the arsenal at Charleston, brought the 
whole subject at issue so plainly before the Cabinet at Washington 
as to define with great precision the position of some of the 
members. It was upon this occasion that the Secretary of War 
announced without hesitancy the position he held. He main- 
tained "that with his opinions he never could and never would 
consent to the coercion of a sovereign State." His entire view of 
the question and his conclusions were in advance of the secession 
of a State. The consequence of such a condition *' was a grave 
question, and had not yet arisen; that at present he was only 
resolved upon two things: not to reinforce the forts, and not to 
allow them to be taken by an unlawful force." This position 
of the Secretary of War was fully explained at his own request 
by letters from the Assistant Secretary of State to prominent and 
influential men in South Carolina, for the purpose of quieting the 
alarm and apprehensions of the people of Charleston. Meantime, 
in order to acquaint himself more thoroughly with the actual 
condition of things in Charleston Harbor, he had despatched 
Major Fitz John Porter,* an able officer of the Adjutant-General's 
Department, on the 7th of November, to inspect the fortifications 
and troops in Charleston Harbor. Major Porter proceeded to 



* Official Report of Major F. J. Porter, W. D, November 11, i860. 
W, of R. Vol. I. p. 70, 



6o THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Charleston on the 7th of November, and after a thorough inspec- 
tion submitted his report to the Secretary of War. He reported 
that there was an absence of strict discipline in the command; that 
no sentinel was posted over the buildings and storehouses out- 
side the fort; and that an incendiary could in a few moments 
destroy all the supplies and workshops; that sufficient personal 
attention was not given to the Quartermaster and Subsistence 
departments; that the troops were grossly ignorant of their drill 
as infantry; and that their commanding officers manifested a want 
of familiarity with the tactics; and that all military exercises had 
been suspended for a long time; that the commanding officer 
neglected to appear at inspection or drill, and that " such neglect 
was due to indifference to the performance of military duty;" 
that no precautions had been taken to guard against an attempt 
at surprise or the destruction of the buildings, which, in the 
highly inflamed condition of the mass of the community, was not 
improbable. " The unguarded state of the fort invites attack, if 
such design exists, and much discretion and prudence are required 
on the part of the commander to restore the proper security with- 
out exciting a community prompt to misconstrue actions of 
authority. I think this can be effected by a proper commander, 
without checking in the slightest the progress of the engineer in 
completing the works of defense. All could have been easily 
arranged several weeks since, when the danger was foreseen by 
the present commander." In concluding his report Major Porter, 
contrary to the opinion and recommendation of Major Anderson, 
thought it unadvisable to occupy Fort Sumter, " so long as the 
mass of engineer workmen" were engaged in it, but that the "com- 
pletion of those parts essential for the accommodation of a com- 
pany might be hastened." In regard to Castle Pinckney, he 
thought that "under present circumstances" he would not recom- 
mend its occupation. In view of this report, and of the action of 
Colonel Gardiner in attempting to replenish his stores from the 
arsenal at Charleston, it was determined to relieve him from his 
command. Accordingly, on the 15th of November, a special 
order was issued by command of Lieutenant-General Scott, 
directing Major Robert Anderson, First Artillery, to "proceed 
to Fort Moultrie, and immediately relieve Brevet-Colonel John L. 
Gardiner, Lieutenant-Colonel First Artillery, in command thereof." 
Major Anderson had been promoted to his present grade in 1 85 7. 



SKETCH OF MAJOR ANDERSON. 6 1 

He was the senior major of the regimept, two companies of which 
with the headquarters constituted the garrison of Fort Moultrie. 
A graduate of the Military Academy of the class of 1825, he 
had been in continuous service and in various capacities, both 
civil and military. He had been instructor of Artillery at 
West Point, and had largely cultivated the literature of his pro- 
fession. During the war with Mexico he had served upon the 
staff of General Scott, who had maintained a high opinion of his 
character and abilities, which opinion was shared by the Secretary 
of War. He had been brevetted captain "for gallantry and suc- 
cessful conduct" in the Florida war, and major for gallant and 
meritorious conduct in the battle of Molino del Rey in Mexico, 
where he was severely wounded. While Southern by birth and 
connection, as well as in his sympathies, he was yet controlled 
by a high sense of honor, which influenced him in his duty to 
his Government to the last. Independently of his regimental 
position, he appeared to be especially fitted for the command in 
Charleston Harbor, in view of the complicated and threatening 
relations almost daily presenting themselves; and in sending him 
to Fort Moultrie the authorities in Washington believed that 
while he was likely to be acceptable to the authorities and people 
of South Carolina, they could wholly rely upon him to protect 
and defend the interests of this Government. 

He was at this time wholly in accord with the views of Lieu- 
tenant-General Scott, and he clearly saw and announced the result 
of any other policy. Later, as the responsibility pressed upon 
him, and his position in Fort Sumter seemed to give him control, 
he became largely impressed and influenced by the political com- 
plication; and as State after State severed its connection with the 
Union, he became more and more despairing of any good result. 
Of pure morals and of strong religious nature, he sought Divine 
guidance to sustain him in all his acts. He never at any time 
believed that the coercion of the South was possible. He became 
devoted to a peaceful solution of the troubles, and in his effort to 
attain it he at times wellnigh compromised his position as a 
soldier. His true views, as well as the convictions which influenced 
him, appear more clearly in his private correspondence, as will be 
seen subsequently. 

Major Anderson proceeded at once to his post, and, without 
delay, in company with the engineer officer in charge, instituted 



6 2 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

a close inspection of the forts in tlie harbor. On the 23d of Nov- 
ember he reported to the Government that the outer defenses of 
Fort Moultrie would be finished and the guns mounted in two 
weeks, should nothing unforeseen occur to prevent; that his 
position was rendered insecure by the existence of several sand 
hillocks within a few hundred yards of the eastern wall, which 
offered admirable cover for sharpshooters, and that two of these hill- 
ocks commanded the work ; these he should feel compelled to level ; 
that his garrison was so weak as to invite attack, and that " this 
was openly and publicly threatened;" that the guns in the lower 
tier of casemates of Fort Sumter would be mounted in seventeen 
days, and that the fort itself was then ready " for the temporary 
reception of its proper garrison;" that the magazines contained 
40,000 pounds of powder and a full supply of ammunition for one 
tier of guns. 

" This work, Sumter," said he, ** is the key of the entrance to 
the harbor; its guns command this work, Moultrie, and could soon 
drive out its occupants. It should be garrisoned at once." 

He recommended the immediate occupancy of Castle Pinck- 
ney by a garrison of two officers and thirty men, as by such 
occupancy he thought his own garrison would be safer and more 
secure from attack. He thought it was "essentially import- 
ant" that it should be immediately occupied, "The Charleston- 
ians," he says, " would not venture to attack this place, when 
they knew that their city was at the mercy of the commander of 
Castle Pinckney;" and so important did he regard this, that he 
asks for authority to occupy it by an officer and twenty-six 
laborers to make repairs, and that they might be instructed in the 
use of the guns to defend it. This request was refused by the 
Secretary of War.* He earnestly asked that reinforcements might 
be sent to him, and that Fort Sumter and Castle Pinckney should 
be garrisoned; and he assumed the responsibility of making the 
above suggestion because he firmly believed that as soon as the 
people of South Carolina learned that he had demanded reinforce- 
ments, they would occupy Castle Pinckney and attack him at Fort 
Moultrie. The importance of this communication of Major 
Anderson to his Government cannot be over-estimated. It was 
the result of his earliest impressions. He had just taken com- 



* Adjutant- General's office, December i, i860. S. Cooper, Adjutant- 
General. 



WORKMEN SEAT TO CASTLE PINCKNEY. 



63 



mand, and after an inspection of his position and surroundings 
his military instincts at once suggested the only proper course to 
be pursued ; and he did not cease to urge upon the Government 
the necessity for immediate reinforcement until he came to feel 
how powerless he was. This communication was submitted to 



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SECTIONAL VIEW OF FORT MOULTRIE. 



the Secretary of War, and on the 28th of November Major Ander- 
son was informed by the Adjutant-General that authority had 
been given by the Engineer Bureau to Captain Foster to send to 
Castle Pinckney the engineer workmen, as he had suggested, and 
he was directed to forward any information he might have directly 



64 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

to the Department or to the Secretary himself, thus avoiding 
General Scott. 

But while opposed to the sending of any enlisted men to Fort 
Moultrie, the Secretary of War was willing to employ civilians, 
and upon the 24th of November, through the Adjutant-General of 
the Army, he had asked for information upon the present state of 
the command and the condition and " capabilities of defense," 
and, " whether in view of maintaining the troops ready for effi- 
cient action and defense, it might not be advisable to employ re- 
liable persons not connected with the military service for purposes 
of fatigue and police." Part of this letter had been anticipated. 
In reply, Major Anderson stated that the excitement was too 
great, and he doubted whether such persons could be obtained 
there. Again, on November 28, he repeats his recommendation 
that Castle Pinckney should be garrisoned, as more could be done 
for his security by that means than by anything that could be 
done by strengthening the defenses of Fort Moultrie. And he 
reports that, had he been in command at an earlier period and 
before the work was begun, he would have advised the removal of 
the garrison to Fort Sumter, " which so perfectly commands the 
harbor and this fort." * 

The whole force under the command of Major Anderson con- 
sisted of seven officers, two non-commissioned staff, seventeen 
non-commissioned ofificers and seventy-five enlisted men, of whom 
eight were musicians. There was no restriction at this period 
upon any intercourse with Charleston, many of whose citizens 
were temporary residents of Sullivan's Island. The activity about 
the fort drew to it a large number of visitors daily, and the posi- 
tion of the garrison and the probable action of the State in regard 
to the forts were constant subjects of discussion. There was as 
yet no unfriendly feeling manifested, and the social intercourse 
between the garrison and their friends in Charleston was uninter- 
rupted. But as the days went on the feeling assumed a more 
definite shape, and found expression in many ways. The officers 
of the garrison were informed by prominent citizens of Charleston 
that the people were greatly excited, that not another man or any 
kind of stores would be allowed to land at or for these forts, and 
that the action of the General Government in putting the forts in 



♦Anderson, November 28, i860, to Adjutant-General. 



WORK PUSHED ON THE FORTS. 



65 



a more defensive state would be regarded as an act of " aggres- 
sion," which would cause an attack to be made upon them. It 
was openly announced, both to the commanding officer and to his 
officers, that as soon as the State seceded a demand for the 
delivery of the forts would be made, and if resisted, they would 
be taken. Major Anderson was greatly impressed by these state- 
ments, and on December i again renewed his request for troops 
or " vessels of war," and he informed the Government that the 
question to be decided — and the sooner it was done the better — 
was, whether, when South Carolina secedes, these forts are to be 
surrendered or not. Meantime, all of the able-bodied men in 
Charleston were enrolled, military companies were formed every- 
where, and drilling went on by night and day, and with the im- 
pression among them that they were to attack Fort Moultiue. 
Speeches of the most inflammatory character were made, in view 
of the assembling of the Convention to meet on the 17th of 
December, and the determination to take possession of the fort, at 
all hazards, increased in strength from day to day. 

Meantime, the work on the forts went on steadily under the 
engineer officers in charge. On the 12th of September, the same 
day that the work upon Fort Moultrie was begun, the engineer 
officer in charge reported to his chief that " a full force of masons 
will commence work on two casemate arches of Fort Sumter 
to-morrow morning," and on the 14th of September he requested 
that the several appropriations made by Congress for the repairs 
and construction of Forts Sumter and Moultrie be placed to his 
credit. This was at once done, and on the 1 8th of September he was 
informed by the acting chief engineer that the remittances had 
been applied for, and that he would be charged as follows: 

For Fort Sumter $20,000 

For Fort Moultrie 8,500 

For Preservation of the site of Fort Moultrie. .. 5,000 

It was under these specific appropriations of Congress, in the 
ordinary routine of departmental business, and directed by the 
proper officials, that work upon the forts in the harbor of Charles- 
ton was begun and continued in the summer and fall of i860. It 
soon became manifest that assistance to the engineer in charge of 
the works was necessary, and accordingly, on the 21st of Septem- 
der. First Lieutenant G. W. Snyder, corps of engineers, reported 
for duty under special orders of the War Department, as an assist- 



66 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

ant to the engineer in charge of the works, and was shortly after- 
wards assigned especially to the work on Fort Sumter. An able, 
active and sagacious officer, much of the valuable work done was 
the result of his personal suggestion and superintendence. Owing 
to the difficulty of obtaining efficient white labor in Charleston, 
fifty laborers were brought from Baltimore by the engineer in 
charge of the works. During September, October and November 
the work on the forts progressed steadily and rapidly. The large 
mass of sand in front of the scarp wall of Fort Moultrie was 
removed, and a permanent glacis formed, flanking arrangements 
built, the guard-house pierced with loop-holes for musketry and 
made defensible, the construction of temporary platforms and the 
placing of four field-pieces in position for flank defense, as well 
as the digging of a wet ditch around part of the work. One hun- 
dred and twenty men were employed, and the work had so far and 
so satisfactorily progressed that on the 2d of December Major 
Anderson reported to his Government that the work on Fort 
Moultrie would soon be finished, and that even his small com- 
mand would be enabled to make such a resistance that the South 
Carolina authorities would hardly venture to attack him.* On the 
13th of December the engineer in charge reported to his chief 
that, "with a sufficient war garrison, he would consider Fort 
Moultrie as secure against any attack of the State."f 

Meantime, the work upon Fort Sumter was steadily progress- 
ing. The casemate arches of the second tier were constructed 
and the flagging laid, the officers' quarters completed, and the 
whole of the upper tier made ready for the armament, and on 
the 24th of November Fort Sumter, in the opinion of Major An- 
derson, was ready for and ought to receive one company. 

The activity at the forts had not failed to draw the attention 
of the authorities of the State and people of Charleston to them, 
and it was the conviction of every officer that an attack was 
imminent. The greatest irritation existed that the Government 
was engaged in strengthening them. It was claimed that their 
guns were trained upon the city, and in speeches made to the 
crowds that assembled in different sections, the people were called 
upon to go and "turn those guns backward." Effective use was 
made of this in the pressure brought to bear upon the Conven- 

* Anderson, December 2, i860, to Adjutant-General, 
t Anderson, page 26. Engineer Officer. 



DEMAND ON CAPTAIN FOSTER. 67 

tion, but wiser counsels prevailed, and it was finally determined, 
by those controlling the movement, to refrain from any immedi- 
ate hostile demonstration against the forts, provided that the Gov- 
ernment at Washington would agree that no change in the military 
status should be made until at least the Convention should meet 
and act, and entrust the subject to commissioners for its final 
adjustment at Washington. It was at this time that an applica- 
tion was made by an adjutant of a South Carolina regiment to the 
engineer officer at Moultrie for his rolls, as it was desired to enroll 
the men upon them for military duty. The engineer officer 
refused, as the vcxzxx were in the employment and pay of the 
United States. Major Anderson, to whom the subject had been 
referred, without delay asked the special instructions of his 
Government. " What shall I do," said he, " if the State authori- 
ties demand from Captain Foster men whom they may have 
enrolled into the State's service ?" Upon the 14th of December 
the War Department replied to him, that if the State authori- 
ties demand any of Captain Foster's workmen, on the ground of 
their being enrolled into the service of the State, and the subject 
is referred to you, you will, after fully satisfying yourself that the 
men are subject to enrollment, and have been properly enrolled, 
cause them to be delivered up or suffer them to depart." This 
reply was not satisfactory to Major Anderson, who, upon the 
1 8th of December, informed the Department that, as he " under- 
stood it, the South Carolina authorities sought to enroll as a part 
of their army intended to work against the forces of the United 
States men who are employed by and in the pay of that Govern- 
ment, and could not, as I (he) conceived, be enrolled by South 
Carolina under the laws of the United States and^.of the State of 
South Carolina." * To this no answer was returned, and the rolls 
were not furnished. 



* Anderson to Adjutant-General, November 28, i860. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Letter of War Department declining to reinforce — Feeling in Charleston that 
forts would be taken — Anderson's views — Letler to R. N. Gourdin and 
to his rector at Trenton, N. J. — Sand-hills around the Fort — Refusal of the 
Government to allow him to reduce them — Importanceof Sumter— Instruc- 
tions of War Department to Anderson by Major Buell — Substance of his 
interview with Anderson — Buell's order given to Anderson — Criticism on 
it from Buell himself — Further instructions from President not to make a 
desperate defense — Force of engineer workmen sent to Pinckney— Muskets 
sent to Pinckney and Sumter on Foster's requisition — Excitement in con- 
sequence — Action in Charleston and Washington — Muskets returned. 

As the time passed, Major Anderson found his position at 
Fort Moultrie growing more and more irksome. The threatening 
attitude of the State added to his embarrassment, and he reported 
to his Government that there were " intelHgent and efficient men 
in this community who, by intimate intercourse with our army 
affairs, had become perfectly acquainted with this fort, its weak 
points, and the best means of attack."* There was no conceal- 
ment of the purposes of the State, as in private conversation and 
in public speeches their determination to take the forts was openly 
asserted, and the officers of the garrison were frankly and repeat- 
edly told of the feeling of the people in opposition, as already 
stated, to any supplies to the forts, or any effort to place them in 
a special state of defense. Drilling went on nightly, and the 
streets were daily enlivened by the march of armed bodies of 
men, whose purpose of attack upon Fort Moultrie was at times 
loudly proclaimed.! 

The Government had declined to reinforce the forts, and, in 
response to the urgent applications made by Major Anderson, 
had definitely informed him of its purpose. "It is believed," 
said the Adjutant-General upon December i, " from information 
thought to be reliable, that an attack will not be made on your 
command, and the Secretary has only to refer to his conversation 



* Anderson, December 28, i860. 
+ Personal observation. 

68 



ANDERSON'S REPORT. 69 

with you, and to caution you that, should his convictions unhappily 
prove untrue, your actions must be such as to be free from the 
charge of initiating a collision. If attacked, you are of course 
expected to defend the trust committed to you to the best of your 
ability. 

" The increase of the force under your command, however 
much to be desired, would, the Secretary thinks, judging trom 
the recent excitement produced on account of an anticipated 
increase, as mentioned in your letter, but add to that excitement 
and might lead to serious results."* 

On the Tst of December, Major Anderson reported to his 
Government that the people were " making ready for the fight 
which they say must take place, and insist upon our not doing 
anything." And he recommended, on the 6th of December, that 
in view of the approaching action of the State, it would be well to 
discontinue all engineering work on Fort Moultrie, except what 
was necessary to increase its strength, and " apply our science " 
to making every means available to resist an assault ; and added 
that if Fort Sumter was not to be garrisoned, " the guns certainly 
ought not to be mounted, as they might be turned upon him in 
Moultrie." "Our time is short enough for what we have to do," 
said he, and should the stores or reinforcements not arrive, he 
feared that we should not " distinguish ourselves by holding out 
many days." But little hope was entertained by him that any 
settlement of the difficulties could be had without bloodshed, 
and he so reported to his Government. His sentiments found 
expression in his private letters. On the nth of December, he 
wrote to a friend in Charleston:! 

" You need no assurance from me that, although I am exerting 
myself to make this little work as strong as possible and to put my 
handful of men in the highest state of discipline, no one will do 
more than I am willing to do to keep the South in the right and to 
avoid the shedding of blood. You may be somewhat surprised at 
the sentiment I express, being a soldier, that I think an appeal to 
arms and to brute force is unbecoming the age in which we live. 
Would to God that the time had come when there should be no 
war, and that religion and peace should reign throughout the world. 
" I am, dear Sir, 

" Yours very respectfully, 

" Robert Anderson." 



* Adjutant-General's office, December I, i860, 

f Mr. Robert N. Gourdin, 



70 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

To the rector of the church he attended in Trenton, N. J., he 
writes more fully of his position, and of the difficulties that sur- 
rounded him ; and in view of his subsequent action, his statements 
become important. His letter was as follows : 

" Fort Moultrie, S. C, 
** December 19, i860. 
My dear Friend, 



" A word or two about my position, and so on. As soon as I 
had time to inspect my position and ascertain the feeling and tem- 
per of the people here, I found that to enable me to comply with 
my orders to defend this fort, it was absolutely necessary that 
more troops and ordnance stores must be sent. And I recom- 
mended that they should be sent at once. The Government has, 
as you see it stated, declined for prudential reasons to send them, 
and I must now do the best I can. This fort is a very weak one 
in its capacity of being defended ; it is surrounded by houses that 
I cannot burn or destroy until I am certain that I am to be 
attacked, and I shall not be certain of it until the South Carolinians 
are in possession ; but I have so little ammunition that I can- 
not waste it in destroying houses. And again, within 160 yards 
from the walls are piles of sand-hills, some of them higher than 
our fort, which will give the best and safest shelter for sharp- 
shooters, who may pick off in a short time our band of sixty men 
— all we have." 



Meantime, his position at Fort Moultrie became more and 
more critical. He had applied to the War Department for authority 
to remove the low range of sand-hills so near to and which com- 
manded his work on the north side — the approach from the land. 
These hills, if occupied by sharpshooters, would have rendered 
the service of the guns on that side impossible. His application 
was denied. "If deemed essential," said the Secretary of War, 
through the Adjutant-General, on the 14th of December, " to the 
more perfect defense of the work, the levelling of the sand-hills, 
which command the fort, could not under ordinary circumstances 
be considered as initiating a collision." But the delicate question 
of its bearing on the popular mind in its present excited state 
demands the coolest and wisest judgment. The fact of the 
sand-hills being private property and having houses upon them, 
decided the question in the negative; the houses could be destroyed 



MAJOR ANDERSON'S IMPRESSION OF SUMTER. J i 

at any moment, but, being levelled in anticipation of an attack, 
"might betray distrust and prematurely bring on a collision." 
Major Anderson at once replied — on the i8th of December — that 
there were no houses built upon the sand-hills, they were between 
him and them, but that he would not remove them until conviii^ed 
that an attack would be made upon him; and he at the same 
time informed the Department that these sand-hills and the 
houses surrounding the fort would afford safe shelter for sharp- 
shooters, who might pick off the greater part of his command, if 
they stood to their guns, in a few hours. His conference with 
Colonel Huger and with the mayor of the city and promi- 
nent citizens, convinced him that, so far as their influence or 
power extended, no unauthorized attack would be made upon 
him, but all were equally decided that the forts must be theirs 
after the State had passed the Ordinance of Secession and its 
Commissioners had gone to Washington. 

Meantime, the attention of the State authorities and the 
people had been turned more especially to Fort Sumter. They 
were not slow to realize that, well provisioned and manned, its 
possession would give the control of the harbor to the force 
occupying it. So much was Major Anderson impressed with this 
belief that he communicated the fact to his Government, and 
recommended that it might be advisable and prudent to cause 
all of the ammunition, except what was needed for the immediate 
defense of the forts, to be destroyed or rendered unserviceable. 
" Fort Sumter," said he, " is a tempting prize, the value of which 
is well known to the Charlestonians, and once in their possession, 
with its ammunition and armament and walls uninjured, and gar- 
risoned properly, it would set our navy at defiance, compel me to 
abandon this work, and give them perfect command of this harbor." 
And thus, in almost daily communication. Major Anderson 
reported to the Government not only the details of his position in 
their military relations, but his anxieties and well-founded appre- 
hensions, and he was persistent in his applications for instructions 
that should fully guide him in the extraordinary circumstances 
in which he was placed. 

It was impossible to leave him longer without such instruc- 
tions, and accordingly Major Don Carlos Buell, a discreet and able 
ofificer of the Adjutant-General's Department, was selected by 
the War Department to proceed to Charleston Harbor and convey 



72 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



to Major Anderson instructions, which were given to Major Buell 
verbally by the Secretary of War at his residence in Washington. 
The subject had been discussed in the Cabinet, but without 
deciding upon the character of the instructions, it was left to the 
Secretary of War to transmit such as he deemed necessary. 
Sending for Major Buell on the 7th of December, the Secretary 
informed him that he desired him to go to Charleston to inspect 
Major Anderson's situation and communicate instructions to him. 
These instructions were " explanatory of the policy to be obser- 
ved, rather than absolute or explicit with reference to the things 
to be done."* Nor did they assume the form of orders. " The 
duty of maintaining defensively the authority of the Government 
was distinctly affirmed." The critical condition of affairs at 
Charleston, the question of reinforcing Major Anderson, and the 
importance of allaying the public excitement and avoiding a col- 
lision," were alluded to in the conversation, and the impression 
produced upon the mind of Major Buell was that, whether from 
prudential reasons or because of the difficulty of providing for 
every contingency in the defensive attitude required of Major 
Anderson, any committal to writing "was purposely avoided by 
the Secretary." The Secretary spoke of his own authority only, 
and made no allusions to the President, and no memorandum was 
made by Major Buell of the conversation until the morning of 
the nth of December, at Major Anderson's headquarters at Fort 
Moultrie, when he had completed the object of his visit, including 
an inspection of Fort Sumter, and was about to start upon his return. 
Major Buell had passed the night not only in the same quarters 
with Major Anderson, but in the same room with him. In the 
morning the verbal instructions he had given, were reduced to 
writing at the voluntary offer of Major Buell himself. That 
memorandum was entirely in his own language. It was not, nor 
did it profess to be, a literal record of the Secretary's communica- 
tion to him, but was his interpretation of the Secretary's inten- 
tions, adapted to the condition of things as the messenger found 
them, and of which the Secretary himself could have had no 
exact knowledge. From the manner in which the instructions 
had been communicated to Major Buell, it might have been 
inferred that they were not to be conveyed by him in any other 



* Major Buell's letter to author. 



INSTRUCTIONS TO MAJOR ANDERSON. 73 

way; but, impressed with the importance of the occasion, he said 
to Major Anderson, after discussing with him suggestively the 
application of them to particular questions, " You ought to have 
written evidence of these instructions;" and without waiting for 
any reply he immediately " committed them for the first time to 
paper." They were as follows: 

" Memorandum of verbal instructions to Major Anderson, 
First Artillery, commanding Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. 

" You are aware of the great anxiety of the Secretary of War, 
that a collision of the troops with the people of this State shall 
be avoided, and of his studied determination to pursue a course 
with reference to the military force and forts in this harbor which 
shall guard against such collision. He has, therefore, carefully 
abstained from increasing the force at this point, or taking any 
measures which might add to the present excited state of the 
public mind, or which would throw any doubt on the confidence 
he feels that South Carolina will not attempt by violence to obtain 
possession of the public works or interfere with their occupancy. 
But as the counsel and acts of rash and impulsive persons may 
possibly disappoint these expectations of the Government, he 
deems it proper that you should be prepared with instructions to 
meet so unhappy a contingency. He has, therefore, directed me 
verbally to give you such instructions. 

" You are carefully to avoid every act which would needlessly 
tend to provoke aggression; and for that reason you are not, 
without evident and imminent necessity, to take up any position 
which could be construed into the assumption of a hostile attitude. 
But you are to hold possession of the forts in this harbor, and if 
attacked you are to defend yourself to the last extremity. The 
smallness of your force will not permit you, perhaps, to occupy 
more than one of the three forts, but an attack on or an attempt 
to take possession of any one of them will be regarded as an act 
of hostility, and you may then put your command into either of 
them which you may deem most proper, to increase its power of 
resistance. You are also authorized to take similar steps when- 
ever you have tangible evidence of a design to proceed to a 
hostile act, 

(Signed.) " D. C. Buell, 

"Assistant Adjutant-General. 

"Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, December 11, i860." 

This is an exact copy of the original instructions now on file 
in the War Department, in the handwriting of Major Buell, and 
there is no other record of the instructions in the archives of 
the Government. In furnishing a copy of them to the President 



74 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



on the 2 1 St of December, the Secretary of War appended the 
following: 

"This is in conformity to my instructions to Major Buell." 
(Signed.) " John B. Floyd, 

" Secretary of War." 

It could not have been important, and may have been entirely 
accidental, but it is nevertheless to be observed that the word 
defensive, not in the original, appears in the last sentence of the 
copy furnished to the President. 

In handing the paper to Major Anderson, Major Buell said, 
" This is all I am authorized to say to you, but my personal 
advice is, that you do not allow the opportunity to escape you." 

Anderson understood his remark only as " a friendly encour- 
agement," while there was still much in the nature of his orders 
and the attitude of the Government to embarrass him. 

Major Buell had remained over Sunday in Charleston, and 
became impressed with the feeling manifested. There was no 
noisy demonstration, but " there was everywhere evidence," he 
thought, " of a settled purpose." The determination to obtain 
possession of the forts was with them as fixed as the act of seces- 
sion itself. 

All the indications and all the information he could obtain 
convinced him " that Fort Sumter would be seized, with or with- 
out the State authorities, unless the Government should occupy 
it," and these considerations largely influenced him in his inter- 
pretation of the instructions of the Secretary of War, and which 
were expressed in the memorandum order. 

He thought, too, that "it was evident Fort Moultrie would any 
day be liable to assault and reduction unless Sumter was occupied 
by a Government garrison," and he thought that Anderson " fully 
realized the fact." 

After some suggestions to Anderson, "all looking to the con- 
templated transfer of his command," Major Buell returned at 
once to Washington with a copy of the memorandum he had 
given to him. His report to the Secretary was verbal, but he 
left with the chief clerk, Mr. W. R. Drinkard, who enjoyed con- 
fidential relations with the Secretary, a copy of the memorandum 
for the files of the War Department. Whether the Secretary ever 
read it until it was called for by the President is questionable. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS. 



75 



Anderson reported the visit of Major Buell and his instructions 
to him, but they were not made known to the President until the 
2ist of the same month. The President was dissatisfied with 
that part of the instructions which directed Anderson to defend 
himself to *' the last extremity," and a special messenger was 
sent with a communication to Major Anderson, in which he was 
informed that it was not the President's intention that he should 
make a useless sacrifice of his own life or that of his men, upon 
a mere point of honor. He was to exercise a sound military dis- 
cretion, and if he was attacked by a greatly superior force it would 
be his duty to yield to necessity and make the best terms in his 
power.* The sending of Major Buell and the object of his mis- 
sion were known in Washington, and on the 13th of December 
the principal newspaper of Charleston published, from its corre- 
spondent in Washington, the following despatch : 

" Major Buell and several other officers of the army have been 
sent to Fort Moultrie to look after the forts. Keep a sharp look- 
out upon them. They were sent for no good to us. See that 
they make no change in the distribution of soldiers, so as to put 
them all in Fort Sumter ; that would be dangerous to us." 

The instructions delivered by Major Buell were of thefirsf; im- 
portance, both as a warrant to Major Anderson in the course he sub- 
sequently pursued, as well as in enabling the President to support 
him in that course. 

Meantime, the difficulties of Anderson's position at Fort 
Moultrie increased daily. His pressing request of the 23d of 
November, to occupy Castle Pinckney with laborers in case the 
Government declined to send troops for that purpose, had been 
acceded to by the War Department on the 28th of that month, 
and an additional officer. Second Lieutenant R. K. Meade, of the 
Corps of Engineers, detailed as an assistant to take charge. But 
since his letter of the 23d of November, Major Anderson had 
modified his views, and on December i, had reported to the 
War Department that it was probable that, in the highly excited 
state of the people, the sending of the detachment of engineer 
laborers to Castle Pinckney " may bring on that collision which 
we are so anxious to avoid." He would consult the engineer 
officer in charge, and if convinced that it would lead to that result, 

*Floyd to Anderson, December 21, i860. 



76 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

he would assume the responsibility, and suspend the execution of 
the plan. Satisfying himself that no opposition would be made, 
the measure was allowed to proceed ; and considering that this 
detachment was in reality an advance guard for his command, he 
assigned First Lieutenant Jefferson C. Davis to occupy the work 
until the engineer officer should arrive, and work was begun on 
Castle Pinckney on the 3d of December. It was hoped and 
believed by Major Anderson and his engineer that this force, con- 
sisting of four mechanics and thirty laborers, could be made 
available for the active defense of the work in default of troops. It 
had so been presumed in the letter of Major Anderson of the 
28th of November, and in accordance with this view a request 
was made by the engineer in charge, on the 2d of December, to 
the War Department, through the chief of this corps, that four 
boxes of muskets, with cartridge-boxes and belts, be issued to him, 
as he required fifty muskets for Fort Sumter and fifty for Castle 
Pinckney. Colonel Huger,who was then in Charleston,and had com- 
mand of the arsenal, declined to recommend their issue, even tem- 
porarily, without orders from the War Department, but upon 
consultation with Captain Foster and Major Anderson it was 
agreed that it was best to write for the requisite authority at once. 
The application was made, and laid before the Secretary of War 
on the 6th of December. It was returned by the Adjutant-Gen- 
eral on the 7th, with the endorsement that action " was deferred 
for the present," and reference made to a recent letter of Captain 
Foster of the 4th of December. In this letter Captain Foster 
had stated that in consequence of " recent developments " of the 
state of feeling among his men, he did not "judge it proper to 
give them any military instruction or to place arms in their hands." 
This applied more especially to Fort Sumter, where his overseer 
had ascertained that his men were disinclined to resist the citizen 
soldiers of the State, although willing to resist a mob ; and he 
reported that the feeling in regard to secession was so strong that 
almost all were entirely influenced by it. 

On the 6th of December Major Anderson reported that he 
feared the same might be anticipated from the force in Castle 
Pinckney. But as his confidence in his laboring force increased, 
and his conviction that without arms he was at the mercy of a mob 
became real. Captain Foster proceeded to the arsenal on the 17th 
of December, " for the purpose of procuring two gins which were 



REMOVAL OF ARMS— EXCITEMENT. 



11 



required at Fort Sumter," and to the transmission of which there 
was no objection. While there, he arranged with the military store- 
keeper that the old order of the Ordnance Department of Novem- 
ber I, allowing him forty muskets, should be complied with. 
This order had been suspended at the time, on account of the 
objection of Colonel Gardiner, the commanding officer of Fort 
Moultrie, as its execution would appear like arming the employees. 
It was suspended only, and they were now sent to Captain Foster, 
and placed in the magazines of Fort Sumter and Castle Pinckney 
on the 17th of December. The act occasioned an excitement that 
ought to have been foreseen. Early on the following morning the 
military storekeeper addressed a note to Captain Foster, stat- 
ing that the shipment of the forty muskets had caused " intense 
excitement." A military official of the State had called upon him 
and assured him that some " violent demonstration " was certain, 
unless the excitement could be allayed, and he also informed him 
that Colonel Huger had assured the Governor of the State that no 
arms should be removed. He had pledged his word that the muskets 
should be returned at once, and he asks that this request be com- 
plied with. Captain Foster declined to return the arms, stating 
that he knew nothing of the pledge of Colonel Huger to the 
Governor, but was willing to refer the matter to Washington. 

Meantime, a telegram had been sent from Charleston to the 
Assistant Secretary of State, on the 19th of December, informing 
him of the removal of the forty muskets from the arsenal in 
Charleston to Fort Moultrie, and that great excitement prevailed. 
And he was requested to ask the Secretary of War to have the 
arms instantly returned, or a collision might occur at any moment; 
that this act, not instantly countermanded by telegraph, would be 
decisive, and that not a moment should be lost. An immediate 
reply also should be sent. 

"In the meantime," says the Assistant Secretary of State, "the 
difficulties were increasing. On the 19th of December I received 
the following telegram : 

" W. H. Trescot, late Ass't Sec'y of State, Charleston. 

" Captain Foster yesterday removed forty muskets from the 
arsenal in Charleston to Fort Moultrie; great excitement prevails; 
telegraph to have the arms instantly returned, or a collision may 
occur at any moment. Three days will determine, in conven- 
tion, peace or war, and this act, not instantly countermanded by 



yS THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

telegraph, will be decisive. Not a moment's time should be lost. 
Telegraph immediately to me." 

The telegram reached the Assistant Secretary at a late hour of 
the night of the 19th. He at once sought the Secretary of War 
at his residence. He was ill, but he gave immediate orders to the 
chief clerk of his department to telegraph, in his name, to Captain 
Foster, that if he had removed any arms, to return them instantly, 
and to answer by telegraph. Major Anderson, who had upon the 
1 8th advised Captain Foster to return the arms, was at the same 
time informed by the Secretary, by telegram of like date, of his 
order to Captain Foster, and the telegraph office was kept open 
all night for the reply. The arms were returned at once upon the 
receipt of the Secretary's order, and the following telegram was 
received by the Assistant Secretary of State : 

" The Governor says he is glad of your despatch, for otherwise 
there would have been imminent danger. Earnestly urge that 
there be no transfer of troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, 
and inform the Secretary of War. 

(Signed.) "J. Johnston Pettigrew, 

" Aide-de-Camp." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

F. W. Pickens elected Governor of South Carolina — His character and history 
— Sends Major D. H. Hamilton, confidential messenger, to the President 
— His letter demanding Fort Sumter — Interview with President — Assistant 
Secretary of State interferes —Consults Senators Davis and Slidell — Letter 
withdrawn — President sends General Gushing to Governor Pickens — Fail- 
ure of his mission — Governor establishes the guard-boat between Moultrie 
and Sumter — His orders — Press of the State urge the seizure of the forts. 

Upon the i ith of December, in accordance with the provisions 
of her constitution, the Legislature of South Carolina proceeded 
to the election of a Governor in place of W. H. Gist, whose term 
of office was about to expire. Upon the seventh ballot on the 14th 
of December, Francis W. Pickens, a distinguished citizen of the 
State, was declared to be the choice of the Legislature. While 
engaged in the peaceful pursuit of agriculture and away from the 
strife of public political life, he had been called by the President 
to represent the country at the Court of St. Petersburg, and had 
returned at a moment when a crisis in political affairs seemed to 
be imminent. A student of classical literature, of varied and 
extensive information, he had served his State in various capaci- 
ties, and he was now, as he had ever been, in devoted syn.pathy 
with her in all that she had done, and in all that she proposed to 
do. He was identified with no clique nor trammelled by partisan 
obligation. His social foundations were deeply laid, and this was, to 
his fellows, a commendation sure and strong. For three generations 
his family name had held conspicuous place, and in the struggle 
of the Revolution and afterward in high civil and military position, 
his immediate ancestors had illustrated it by heroic deeds that 
still live in history. An earnest disciple of the school of Calhoun, 
he had become the mouth-piece of its creed and the willing apostle 
of its doctrines. While a Member of Congress, he had, like his 
great exemplar, opposed the reception of petitions for the abolition 
of slavery, and in a powerful speech against the constitutional 
power of the Government to abolish slavery in the District of 
Columbia, had given utterance to sentiments that proved to be 
strangely prophetic. 

79 



8o THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

He advocated the independence of Texas in opposition to Mc- 
Dufifie, and greatly impressed the people by a powerful speech upon 
the relation of the Government to banks and banking. He had 
been a member of the State Senate, and also of the Nashville Con- 
vention of 1850, and, as a member of the State Convention of 1852, 
he had drawn up the ordinance asserting the right of secession 

Presidents Tyler and Polk had each tendered to him a For- 
eign Mission, the former to France, and the latter to England, 
which he had declined. When, however, that to St. Petersburg 
was offered to him by President Buchanan, he accepted it, and had 
now returned from Russia to share the fortunes of his State. 

Hospitable, generous, kind by nature, he had yet not at all 
the genius of government, and when called to a position which 
made him the conspicuous figure at the outbreak of the great 
revolution, and which required the exercise of great qualities, he 
failed to respond to the emergency. Desirous at all times of the 
credit to follow from conspicuous acts in the service of his State, 
he nevertheless shrank from the responsibility so inseparable to 
its attainment. 

His enthusiasm often led him into error, and he allowed his 
better judgment to be overcome " by the glow of the fight." He 
had a certain ability, not unmixed with shrewdness, that enabled 
him at times to maintain himself in default of stronger qualities. 
His zeal was better and stronger than his discretion. 

Of a character so contradictory in its nature and so incon- 
sistent in its purpose it is difficult to form an estimate. Influ- 
enced as he was by a strong will, and without clear perceptions, 
it was hardly possible to trace the relations between his declared 
purposes and the course he pursued under the peculiar circum- 
stances of his position; not upon a review of his career do we find 
in him the characteristics to be looked for in a chosen political 
leader in such a crisis. 

His long absence and his separation from the politics of bis 
State had induced a conservative feeling which was not in har- 
mony with that of the leaders. He had been influenced too by 
the views of the President, whom he had consulted after his 
return. He was in favor of a postponement of any call for a 
convention until the administration of Mr. Buchanan should have 
closed. He was believed to be moderate in his views, and it was 
from this, in connection with his services and prominent position, 



MAJOR HAMIL TON'S MISSION. 8 1 

that he was suggested by some as a candidate for the Governor- 
ship of the State. But many, and especially those holding 
extreme views, were opposed to him, and among them some of his 
immediate family connection. Repeated interviews were held 
with him, when he finally became convinced that unless he put 
himself at once in line with the advanced sentiments and in favor 
of immediate action and the secession of his State, he could not 
be nominated. A public meeting, to be held in Columbia, was 
arranged, where he was to announce his views upon immediate 
State action. At this meeting, he took such advanced ground as 
to leave no illusion as to his sentiments and wishes. He placed 
himself in line with the ultra men of his State and maintained 
himself in advance of the sentiment until the end. 

Almost from the moment that he became the chief executive 
of South Carolina, he found himself at the head of a common- 
wealth that, so far as its own act could accomplish it, was free and 
independent. 

No provision had been made, either by the Convention or by 
the Legislature, for the new and extraordinary condition of 
things after the passage of the Ordinance of Secession. Every 
detail required the personal decision of the executive, and the 
whole was greatly complicated by the constant presence of mili- 
tary questions demanding immediate decision and action, and 
upon the solution of which depended the greatest consequences, 
of good or evil, to the State. 

On the 17th of December, the day after he was inaugurated, 
he despatched a confidential agent to the President demanding 
possession of Fort Sumter. The agent was Major D. H. 
Hamilton, First Regiment, S. C. V. This official had been the 
United States Marshal, and had just resigned his office. The 
letter entrusted to him was marked " strictly confidential." Its 
tone was firm and courteous. It was as follows : 

" [Strictly Confidential.]* 

"Columbia, December 17, i860. 

" My Dear Sir : With a sincere desire to prevent a collision 
of force, I have thought proper to address you directly and truth- 
fully on points of deep and immediate interest. 

" I am authentically informed that the forts in Charleston 



* Correspondence No. i. Governor Pickens to President Buchanan. 
The Record of Fort Sumter. Columbia, S. C, 1862. 



82 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

harbor are now being thoroughly prepared to turn, with effect, 
their guns upon the interior and the city. 

"Jurisdiction was ceded by this State expressly for the pur- 
pose of external defense from foreign invasion, and not with any 
view they should be turned upon the State. 

" In an ordinary case of mob rebellion, perhaps it might be 
proper to prepare them for sudden outbreak. But when the people 
of the State, in sovereign convention assembled, determine to 
resume their original powers of separate and independent sover- 
eignty, the whole question is changed, and it is no longer an act 
of rebellion. 

" I, therefore, most respectfully urge that all work on the forts 
be put a stop to for the present, and that no more force may be 
ordered there. 

" The regular Convention of the people of the State of South 
Carolina, legally and properly called, under our constitution, is 
now in session, deliberating upon the gravest and most moment- 
ous questions, and the excitement of the great masses of the 
people is great, under a sense of deep wrongs and a profound 
necessity of doing something to preserve the peace and safety of 
the State. 

" To spare the effusion of blood, which no human power may 
be able to prevent, I earnestly beg your immediate consideration 
of all the points I call your attention to. It is not improbable 
that, under orders from the commandant, or, perhaps, from the 
commander-in-chief of the army, the alteration and defenses of 
those posts are progressing without the knowledge of yourself or 
the Secretary of War. 

" The arsenal in the city of Charleston, with the public arms, 
I am informed, was turned over, very properly, to the keeping and 
defense of the State force at the urgent request of the Governor 
of South Carolina. I would most respectfully, and from a sincere 
devotion to the public peace, request that you would allow me to 
send a small force, not exceeding twenty-five men and an officer, 
to take possession of Fort Sumter immediately, in ordc to give 
a feeling of safety to the community. There are no United 
States troops in that fort whatever, or perhaps only four or five at 
present, besides some additional workmen or laborers, lately 
employed to put the guns in order. 

"If Fort Sumter could be given to me as Governor, under a 
permission similar to that by which the Governor was permitted 
to keep the arsenal, with the United States arms, in the city of 
Charleston, then I think the public mind would be quieted under 
a feeling of safety, and as the Convention is now in full authority, 
it strikes me that it could be done with perfect propriety. I need 
not go into particulars, for urgent reasons will force themselves 
readily upon your consideration. If something of the kind be 
not done, I cannot answer for the consequences. 



ITS RESULT. %2i 

*' I send this by a private and confidential gentleman, who is 
authorized to confer with Mr. Trescot fully, and to receive 
through him any answer you may think proper to give to this. 
" I have the honor to be, most respectfully, 

(Signed.) " Yours truly, 

" F. W. Pickens. 
"To the President of the United States." 

By the same messenger Governor Pickens addressed a letter 
to the Assistant Secretary of State, whose resignation had not yet 
been accepted, requesting him to attend to his messenger, to go 
with him to the President, and see that he was " certainly able" to 
deliver the letter entrusted to him. One day was allowed by the 
Governor for the stay of his messenger, and, if he thought it neces- 
sary, the Assistant Secretary might bring the answer himself. It 
was no doubt supposed by the Governor that the resignation of 
the Assistant Secretary, which he knew had been tendered, had 
been accepted, and that he was acting then, as he subsequently 
did act, as the agent of the State. 

Major Hamilton proceeded with the utmost haste to Washing- 
ton, and upon the 20th of December procured an interview with 
the President through the Assistant Secretary of State, who thus 
relates what took place. He says : 

" The communication brought by Colonel Hamilton for the 
President was sealed, but I had received notice of this extraordi- 
nary missive in a confidential letter by the previous mail, 7iot, how- 
ever, from the Governor. I saw the President, and returned to 
him with Colonel Hamilton at the hour he appointed. The Presi- 
dent received us in the library, read the letter, and asked Colonel 
Hamilton when he expected to return. He replied, the next morn- 
ing. The President said it was impossible to give him the answer 
by that time — could he not wait longer ? Hamilton said, ' Yes, 
until the next evening. ' The President said the answer would 
then be ready. Hamilton then said, ' Mr. President, I am aware 
of the contents of that letter, and think that if you would accept 
them, it would greatly facilitate the negotiations between my 
Government and the United States. ' The President replied that 
he would consider it, and give Mr. Hamilton his answer next day. 
He then, as we were leaving the room, called me back, gave me 
the letter and asked me to read it, and return to him when I had 
done so. " 

"The letter proposed that, in order to quiet the apprehensions 
of the people of the State as to the forts. Governor Pickens should 
be authorized by the President to occupy Fort Sumter with a small 



84 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

body of State troops, the answer to the request, or demand, to be 
given in twenty-four hours. * If Governor Pickens had simply 
asked the President for an assurance that Fort Sumter should not 
be occupied, and that Anderson should be so instructed, I think 
it could have been obtained ; as it was, this demand, if persisted 
in, released the President from his pledge to the delegation, placed 
them in a very awkward attitude, and, in my opinion, would have 
led to exactly what it wanted to avoid, an issue before the arrival 
of the Commissioners. Besides which the Convention was in 
session ; the very day on which Colonel Hamilton had his inter- 
view with the President the Ordinance of Secession was passed, 
and that body properly was m charge of the conduct and policy 
of the State. I consulted Senators Davis and Slidell, and they 
were both of opinion that to press this demand could do nothing 
but mischief. Generals Bonham and McQueen, two of the Caro- 
lina delegation, the only two, I believe, then in Washington, hap- 
pened to dine with me that day, and as Hamilton had told them 
the object of his mission, I communicated to them the contents 
of the letter, and proposed that we should send a joint telegram 
to the Governor suggesting its withdrawal. We did so, and late 
that night I received the following telegram : 

"Charleston, December 20, i860. 
Hon. W. H. Trescot. 

" You are authorized and requested to withdraw my letter by 
Dr. Hamilton immediately I have seen General Gushing. Des- 
patch back immediately. Have you seen Huger ? 

" F. W. Pickens." 

"The next morning I withdrew the letter. The President 
expressed his gratification, repeated to me over and again his 
desire to avoid collision, his readiness to receive Commissioners, 
to refer them to Congress in good faith, and his determination not 
to disturb the status of the forts, but to wait the result of their 
negotiation. He was pledged, he said, not to disturb the status in 
favor of the United States, and the Governor ought not and could 
not justly ask him to disturb it in favor of the State. He was 
trusting to the honor of Carolina, and they ought not to suspect him; 
he was acting under the obligations of his honor ; and I — and the 
State might rely upon it — would redeem it to the uttermost. He 



* See letter in Journal of House of Representatives, South Carolina, Decem- 
ber II, 1861. 



LETTER OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE. 85 

said he had taken no copy of the letter, but would be glad, if I had 
no objections, to have a copy of the telegram under which I with- 
drew it, which I gave him. I accordingly returned the letter to 
Hamilton, with another to the Governor, explaining my reasons 
for asking authority to withdraw it." This letter of the Assistant 
Secretary, in view of its clear and important statements, is here 
given entire. 

"Washington, December 21, i860. 
" To His Excellency F. W. Pickens, 

" Governor of South Carolina : 

^^ Sir : Your confidential letter to the President was duly 
delivered to him yesterday by D. H. Hamilton, Esq., according 
to your instructions. It was withdrawn (no copy having been 
taken) this morning by me, under the authority of your tele- 
graphic despatch. Its withdrawal was most opportune. It 
reached here under circumstances which you could not have 
anticipated, and it produced the following effect upon the 
President : 

" He had removed Colonel Gardiner from command at Fort 
Moultrie, for carrying ammunition from the arsenal at Charleston; 
he had refused to send reinforcements to the garrison there ; he 
had accepted the resignation of the oldest, most eminent, and 
highest member of his Cabinet, rather than consent to send 
additional force; and the night before your letter arrived, upon a 
telegraphic communication that arms had been removed from the 
arsenal to Fort Moultrie, the Department of War had issued 
prompt orders, by telegraph, to the officer removmg them, to 
restore them immediately. He had done this upon his determi- 
nation to avoid all risk of collision, and upon the written assurance 
of the majority of the Congressional Delegation from the State 
that they did not believe there was any danger of an attack 
upon the forts before the passage of the Ordinance, and an 
expression of their trust and hope that there would be none after, 
until the State had sent Commissioners here. His course had 
been violently denounced by the Northern press, and an effort 
was being made to institute a Congressional investigation. At 
that moment he could not have gone to the extent of action you 
desired, and I felt confident that, if forced to answer your letter 
then, he would have taken such ground as would have prevented 
his even approaching it hereafter — a possibility not at all improb- 
able, and which ought to be kept open. I considered, also, that 
the chance of public investigation rendered the utmost caution 
necessary as to any communications from the State ; and having 
presented the letter, and ascertained what the nature of the reply 
would be, you had all the advantage of knowing the truth, without 



86 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

the disadvantage of having it put on record. Besides this, the 
President seemed to think that your request was based upon the 
impossibility of your restraining the spirit of our people — an 
interpretation which did you injustice, and the possibility of 
which I deemed it due to you to avoid. He also appeared to 
labor under the impression that the representations of the 
Members of Congress and your own differed essentially, and this, 
I thought, on account of both, should not be stated in any reply 
to you. I was also perfectly satisfied that the status of the garri- 
sons would not be disturbed. 

*' Under these circumstances, if I had been acting under 
formal credentials from you, and the letter had been unsealed, I 
would have delayed its presentation for some hours until I could 
have telegraphed you; but that was impossible. As Major Hamil- 
ton, therefore, had brought with him General McQueen and Gen- 
eral Bonham, when he called upon me and delivered the letter, 
and had even gone so far as to express the wish that they should 
be present when he delivered it to the President — a proposition 
which they declined, however — I deemed it not indiscreet, nor in 
violation of the discretionary confidence which your letter im- 
plied, to take their counsel. We agreed perfectly, and the result 
was the telegraphic despatch of last night. The withdrawal of 
the letter was a great relief to the President, who is most earnestly 
anxious to avoid an issue with the State or its authorities, and, I 
think, has encouraged his disposition to go as far as he can in 
this matter, and to treat those who may represent the State with 
perfect frankness. 

'' I have had, this morning, an interview with Governor Floyd, 
the Secretary of War. No order has been issued that will at all 
disturb the present condition of the garrisons; and while I cannot 
even here venture into details, which are too confidential to be 
risked in any way, I am prepared to say, with a full sense of the 
responsibility, that nothing will be done which will either do you 
injury or properly create alarm. Of course, when your Commis- 
sioners have succeeded, or failed to effect their negotiations, the 
whole issue is fairly before you, to be met as courage, honor and 
wisdom may direct. 

" My delay in answering your telegram concerning Colonel 
Huger was caused by his absence from this place. He came, in 
reply to my telegram, last night, and this morning 1 telegraphed 
you his decision, which I presume he has explained by a letter of 
this same date. As Major Hamilton leaves this evening, I have 
only time to write this hurried letter, and am, sir, 

" Very respectfully, 

"Wm. Henry Trescot. 

'<I inclose your confidential letter in this." 

Two days before the interview with Major Hamilton, the 



SECRET MISSION OF MR. GUSHING. 



87 



President, having appointed the Hon. Caleb Gushing a special 
agent in his behalf for the purpose of changing or modifying the 
action of the State, sent him with the following letter to the 
Governor of South Carolina :* 

''Washington, December iS, i860. 
" My Dear Sir : 

" From common notoriety, I assume the fact that the State of 
South Carolina is now deliberating on the question of seceding 
from the Union. While any hope remains that this may be pre- 
vented, or even retarded so long as to allow the people of her 
sister States an opportunity to manifest their opinion upon the 
causes which have led to this proceeding, it is my duty to exert 
all the means in my power to avert so dread a catastrophe. 

"I have therefore deemed it advisable to send to you the Hon. 
Caleb Cushing, in whose integrity, ability and prudence I have 
full confidence, to hold communication with you on my behalf, 
for the purpose of changing or modifying the contemplated 
action of the State in the manner I have already suggested. 

" Commending Mr. Cushing to your kind attention, for his 
own sake as well as that of the cause, I remain, 

" Very respectfully, 

" Your friend, 
(Signed.) "James Buchanan. 

" His Excellency Francis W. Pickens." 

While the object of Mr. Cushing's mission was a secret one, 
its purpose was understood to be a proposition from Mr. 
Buchanan that the call for a convention in South Carolina should 
be postponed until his administration had ended, and that the 
existing status should remain undisturbed. 

The interview with Governor Pickens was short. He told 
Mr. Cushing, frankly, that he would return no reply to the 
President's letter, except to say "very candidly, that there was 
no hope for the Union, and that, as far as he was concerned, he 
intended to maintain the separate independence of South Carolina, 
and from this purpose neither temptation nor danger should for ?. 
moment deter him. 

In regard to the status in the harbor, Mr. Cushing informed 
him that while he could not say what changes circumstances 
might produce, when he left Washington there was then no inten- 
tion whatever to change the status of the forts in the harbor in 



• " The Record of Fort Sumter." Columbia, S. C, 1862. 



88 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

any way.* Official courtesy was not overlooked in the reception 
of Mr. Gushing. 

On the 2oth of December a joint committee of both Houses 
of the Legislature was appointed to invite him to attend in Insti- 
tute Hall in the evening, when, in presence of both branches of the 
general assembly, the Ordinance of Secession passed that day was 
to be signed by the President and members of the Convention. 
This, as well as the tender of the privileges of the House of 
Representatives, was declined by Mr. Gushing, who, finding it im- 
possible to attain the object of his mission, returned at once to 
Washington. 

Meantime, Governor Pickens, not satisfied to await a response 
to his letter to the President, went to Charleston on the i8th, the 
day after his messenger left, and at once proceeded to take into 
his own hands the enforcement of the existing status in the 
harbor. Sending at midnight of the i3th for Gaptain Gharles H. 
Simonton, who with his command, the Washington Light Lifantry, 
had been guarding the arsenal to prevent the removal of ammu- 
nition or stores to the forts, he informed him that he had heard 
of an intention upon the part of the commandant of Fort Moul- 
trie to evacuate that work and take possession of Fort Sumter ; 
that this must be prevented at all hazards ; but that, if possible, 
an actual conflict with the United States troops must be avoided; 
that he had determined to send Captain Simonton, with such men 
from his company as he could rely upon, to cruise between the 
two forts. His orders were specific and in writing. He was to 
hail every boat passing between the forts ; if he found that any 
were boats with United States troops on board, he was ordered 
to state to the officer in charge his orders and to prevent the pas- 
sage at all hazards. If the officer persisted he was to resist it by 
force, to sink his boats and then immediately to take Fort Sumter. 
He was to use his own discretion in accomplishing the object in 
view.f 

Obeying his instructions. Captain Simonton moved a detach- 
ment of his command from the arsenal at once, and placing them 
on a small steamer, proceeded down the harbor to cruise between 



* See Message No. I to Legislature of South Carolina at extra session of 
November, 1861. 

t Governor Pickens's Message at called session of Legislature, convened 
November 5, 1861. 



IMPORTANCE OF SECURING THE FORTS. 89 

Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter. This wrs repeated night after 
night until the 23d instant, when he was relieved from duty by the 
Charleston Rifles under Captain J. Johnson, Jr. 

The day after his inauguration the Governor sent Lieutenant- 
Colonel John Green to Fort Monroe with instructions to furnish 
him with information of all military operations; and he employed 
a Mr. Charles Norris, who was at the head of the minute men of 
Norfolk, to keep him informed. He also hired a workman to 
work in the yard and to keep him posted; and the Governor says 
that he owes much to Mr. Norris for this. 

It was believed by many that, while there was no hope of pre- 
serving the Union, a peaceable solution of the difificulties might 
yet be arrived at by negotiation, provided that the public property 
in the harbor should be secured in the possession of the State 
now; while the administration at Washington, although not 
friendly, was at least committed to such a course as to bar any 
active interference. Within a few months that administration was 
to pass away, and there was nothing to induce any other belief 
than that the incoming administration, securely seated in power 
and in possession of the immense resources of the Government, 
would prove hostile to any proposition for the transfer of the 
public property. Under such circumstances there was no hope 
for peace, for it was the conviction of all minds that the forts in 
the harbor of Charleston should and would be taken by the State. 

A strong pressure had been brought to bear upon the Governor 
soon after his inauguration, in reference to the public property in 
the harbor, and especially in regard to Fort Sumter. The sub- 
ject had engaged the attention of the prominent men ; and the 
leaders, in accordance with the wishes of the people, felt the 
necessity of vigorous action. So earnest was the feeling on the 
subject of the immediate seizure of the forts that parties were 
formed both for and against the measure. Among the sugges- 
tions made and urged upon the Governor was one by Colonel 
R. B. Rhett, Jr., that a large steamer of the Boston line should be 
chartered, 500 riflemen put on board, and the ship anchored 
abreast of the fort and commanding the entrance of the inner 
harbor. 

Early in November, when the election of Mr. Lincoln was 
known, but had not yet been promulgated, a party representing 
various military organizations in Charleston presented themselves 



90 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



to two of the leading military men of the city, and offered to go, 
under their command, and take possession of Fort Sumter. These 
gentlemen dissuaded the applicants from any immediate action, 
but promised co-operation in case that any movement should be 
made. 

Upon the arrival of Colonel Huger to take command of the 
arsenal in Charleston, he sought an interview with one of these 
gentlemen, and informed him that it was known that such a prop- 
osition had been made. Shortly after the inauguration and arrival 
of Governor Pickens in Charleston, he was waited upon by four 
members of the Legislature, consisting of Colonel Rhett, Mr. 
W. S. MuUins, and two others,and earnestly urged to take measures 
to prevent any movement to Fort Sumter. 

Governor Pickens replied that he had made all necessary 
arrangements m reference to preventing Major Anderson from 
occupying Fort Sumter, and he endeavored to satisfy these gen- 
tlemen that any such movement would be prevented. The desire 
to avoid any collision with the General Government, and the 
growing belief that the status, as it then existed, would not be dis- 
turbed until the Convention should act, mainly influenced Gov- 
ernor Pickens to content himself with an effort to enforce it. Nor 
had the Governor himself been indifferent to the importance of 
Fort Sumter, as conferring upon the force that held it the control 
of the harbor. 

Soon after his arrival in Charleston in December, he directed 
Major Walter Gwynn, an accomplished engineer, to make an 
inspection and report of the condition of Fort Sumter. This 
officer at once made a thorough inspection and report of the work. 
The result of this inspection was soon known, and added to the 
deep-seated feeling already existing in regard to the immediate 
possession of the fort. 

The press throughout the State teemed with the most earnest 
arguments in favor of an immediate seizure of the forts, and the 
principal journal of Charleston, the leader of secession sentiment, 
was incessant in its demands for the seizure of Fort Sumter. 
Resolutions were introduced into the Legislature, and public 
speeches were made by prominent men, all urging immediate 
action. '■'■ The forts," said a distinguished speaker to an assem- 
blage at Charleston, " will be ours as soon as we secede, and we 
will secede as surely as the sun will rise on to-morrow." 



GOVERNOR URGED TO SEIZE SUMTER. oi 

Almost immediately after the meeting of the Convention in 
Charleston, and upon the second or third day of its session, a party 
consisting of Ex-Governor J. A. Winston, of Alabama, Benjamin 
McCuUough, George Saunders, and Mr. Sherrod, of Alabama, pro- 
ceeded to Fort Sumter, and thoroughly inspected it as to its offen- 
sive and defensive qualifications, and as to its power of resisting an 
attack from the land. 

On the morning of the 26th of December, Colonel R. B. Rhett, 
Jr., accompanied by Mr. Williams Middleton, of Charleston, 
waited again upon the Governor. A letter had been received by 
Colonel Rhett, from a friend in Washington who was lik&ly to be 
well informed, to the effect that Anderson was about to seize 
Fort Sumter, and Governor Pickens was urged again to secure it. 
Mr. Middleton was not present at the interview, having been called 
away, but the name and the opportunities for information of his 
informant were given by Colonel Rhett to the Governor. On that 
night, Anderson transferred his command from Fort Moultrie to 
Fort Sumter. Two signal guns were fired, as has been before 
described, which announced to Lieutenant Hall — who, in command 
of two lighters with the women and children, and stores of the gar- 
rison, had awaited the signal to make sail for Fort Sumter — that 
the command had arrived there. 

As the report of these guns echoed through the city of Charles- 
ton, the distinguished gentleman who had accompanied Colonel 
Rhett in the morning, and who knew the purport of the letter 
received from Washington, announced to his guests at his resi- 
dence that the Governor had taken Fort Sumter. 



CHAPTER IX, 

Work pushed on at Moultrie — Anderson dissatisfied with flanking defenses — Re- 
ports to Washington — Urges importance of Sumter — Requests permission 
to occupy it — Armament of Moultrie — Its defenses — Aggressive feeling of 
the people — Armament of Castle Pinckney — Work upon Fort Sumter — 
Ready for its guns — Guard-boat appears, and report made to Washington 
— Anderson's orders — His understanding of them — Not informed of any 
understanding— His private letters — Change in Anderson's manner — De- 
termines to move his command to Fort Sumter. 

Work was now pushed on at the forts with the greatest activity, 
and Major Anderson considered that an attack upon him was more 
and more imminent. He manifested the greatest anxiety in regard 
to the progress and character of the defensive works going on, 
while at the same time he was conscious that over their nature or 
construction he could exercise no absolute control, and this added 
greatly to his embarrassment. He had differed from the engineer 
in charge in regard to the building of a caponiere, or bastionette, 
at one of the angles of the work for flanking defense. One at an 
opposite angle had already been constructed, and the foundation 
of the other had been laid. But Major Anderson considered that 
it was now too late to commence its construction, and on the 6th of 
December he had communicated his views to the War Department, 
and suggested the substitution of some other arrangement of more 
speedy construction. 

On the 2oth, the day upon which the Ordinance of Secession 
was passed by the Convention of South Carolina, he called the 
attention of the War Department to the fact that no reply had 
been made to his suggestion ; that the engineer officer did not feel 
authorized to make any change, and would commence the work on 
the next day. This he regretted very much, " for, " said he, " if 
an attack is made while that work is going on, our fort can be very 
easily carried." On the 2 2d inst., in submitting to the Govern- 
ment a statement of the engineer officer, that he would have the 
work defensible in five and have it finished in nine working days, 
he replied, " God knows whether the South Carolinians will defer 



MAJ. ANDERSON'S LETTER TO THE ADJT.-GEN. n^ 

their attempt to take this work as long as that;" and he urges upon 
the Government that when an officer was placed in as delicate a 
position as he then was, '' he should have the entire control over 
all persons connected in any way with the work entrusted to him." 
Major Anderson felt the restrictions upon him keenly. In the 
same communication he reports the presence of the steamer — 
guard-boat — between him and Fort Sumter ; that the authorities 
of the State were determined to prevent, if possible, any troops 
from being placed in that fort ; and that they would seize it as 
soon as they thought it questionable as to its being turned over to 
the State. He again urged upon the Government that if they 
would give him orders he could throw his garrison into Fort Sum- 
ter, although he must sacrifice the greater part of his stores, as it 
was now too late to remove them. But once in Fort Sumter, he 
could keep the entrance to the harbor open until works should be 
constructed outside of him. He thought that no one could tell 
what would be done ; that action might be deferred until the Com- 
missioners return from Washington ; or, if they saw that their 
demands were not likely to be complied with, the State would act 
without waiting for their return. He did not think that he could 
rely upon any assurances, and he " wishes to God that he only 
had men enough to fully man his guns." 

In view of the importance of this communication from Major 
Anderson, it is here given in full: 

No, ic] "Fort Moultrie, S. C, December 22, i860. 

"(Received A. G. O., December 26.) 
" Col. S. Cooper, Adjutant-General : 

" Colonel : Captain Foster is apprehensive that the remarks 
in my letter of the 20th instant may be considered as reflecting 
upon him, and I told him that I would cheerfully state distinctly 
that I do not intend to pass any criticism upon his proceedings. 

" I stated in my last letter fully all the reasons I intended to 
give against commencing the second caponiere. The Captain has 
put a very large force of masons on it, and they are running up 
the walls very rapidly. He says, as he has all the material on 
hand, the men, having just completed the first one, will be enabled 
to construct the second caponiere as soon as they could finish any 
temporary work in its stead. He says that he will have the 'work 
defensible in five more working days, and have it finished in nine 
more working days.' God knows whether the South Carolinians 
will defer their attempt to take this work so long as that. I must 
confess that I think where an officer is placed in as delicate a 



94 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

position as the one I occupy, that he should have the entire con- 
trol over all persons connected in any way with the work intrusted 
to him. Responsibility and power to control ought to go 
together. 

"I have heard from several sources that last night and the 
night before a steamer was stationed between this island and Fort 
Sumter. That the authorities of South Carolina are determined 
to prevent, if possible, any troops from being placed in that fort, 
and that they will seize upon that most important work as soon as 
they think there is reasonable ground for a doubt whether it will 
be turned over to the State, I do not doubt. I think that I could, 
however, were I to receive instructions so to do, throw my garri- 
son into that work, but I should have to sacrifice the greater part 
of my stores, as it is now too late to attempt their removal. Once 
in that work with my garrison I could keep the entrance of their 
harbor open until they construct works outside of me, which 
might, I presume, prevent vessels from coming into the outer 
harbor. 

" We have used nearly all the empty barrels which Captain 
Foster had wisely saved, for embrasures, traverses, &c., and 
Captain Foster is now making use of our gun pent-houses for the 
same purpose, filling them with sand. 

" No one can tell what will be done. They may defer action 
until their Commissioners return from Washington ; or, if apprised 
by the nature of the debates in Congress that their demands will 
not probably be acceded to, they may act without waiting for 
them. 

" I do not think that we can rely upon any assurances, and 
wish to God I only had men enough here to man fully my guns. 
Our men are perfectly conscious of the dangerous position they 
are placed in, but are in as fine spirits as if they were certain of 
victory. 

" I am, Colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" Robert Anderson, 
" Major First Artillery, Commanding. 

" P. S. — I have just heard that several of the men at work in 
Fort Sumter wear the blue cockade. If they are bold enough to 
do that the sooner that force is disbanded the better. The public 
property would be safer there under Lieutenant Snyder and a few 
men than it now is. 

"R. A." 

Through the activity and ability of the Engineer Department 
Fort Moultrie was now in a condition of defense, so far as the 
peculiar circumstances of its position permitted. On the 13th of 
December, the engineer officer reported to his chief that the 
auxiliary defenses would be completed in four days, and that with 
a sufficient war garrison he would consider the fort secure against 



DEFENSES OF FORT MOULTRIE. 



95 



any attack that the State could bring against it, but that the gar- 
rison was a mere handful of sixty men, and he could hardly spare 
men for the flanking defenses he had built. Its armament was 
complete. Its heavy battery numbered forty-five guns, including six- 
teen 24-pounders, nineteen 32-pounders and ten 8-inch Columbiads. 
In addition to these, there were one lo-inch seacoast mortar, four 
brass field-guns and three howitzers of 12 and 24 pounds for 
flanking defense. There was a large supply of ammunition both 
for artillery and infantry, and with some exception, a complete 
service for the guns. 

On the 20th of December, the day upon which the State 
passed the Ordinance of Secession, 137 men were at work upon 
the defenses of Fort Moultrie. The wet ditch that partly 
surrounded the work, half quicksand, was completed. The east 
front of the work was raised, and the guns facing the sand-hills 
were provided with siege -battery embrasures faced with hides, 
with heavy merlons between them, and strong traverses to pre- 
vent an enfilading fire. A bridge connecting the barracks and 
guard-house — which had been loop-holed for musketry and 
arranged for sharpshooters — was finished. Positions were estab- 
lished for sharpshooters, and a picket fence was built bordering 
the ditch and running half around the fort. The embanking of 
the glacis was completed, and it was proposed by the engineer 
officer to connect a powerful Daniells Battery with the magazine 
of Fort Sumter, as well as with mines around Fort Moultrie and 
under the sand-hills, and to explode these mines if the position 
should be taken by an armed force. A strict watch was kept 
night and day, and entrance to the fort forbidden to all but the 
garrison. Hitherto the freest access had been permitted, but as 
the position of the garrison became more critical, and interested 
persons — among them military officials — came down to observe 
and make notes and sketches of the work going on, it became 
necessary to close the gates to all but the garrison — a proceeding 
that occasioned complaint and increased the already excited feel- 
ing of the people. Newspaper correspondents and crowds of 
visitors came daily, and among them persons of position and dis- 
tinction, who conversed freely with the officers with regard to 
their position. The venerable James Pettigrew, accompanied by 
Judge George S. Bryan, of Charleston, came to visit the garrison 
and to convey their sympathy with its position, while frankly 



g6 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

expressing their opinion that if the fort was not given up it would 
be taken. They thought that a continuance of the work under 
the circumstances would be unwise. Their engineers came down as 
the defenses progressed, studying the points of attack and defense. 
It became questionable for the officers to visit the city of Charles- 
ton. There was no social or public gathering in which the great 
question of the forts in the harbor was not discussed. Just pre- 
vious to the secession of the State a distinguished gentleman of 
Charleston, in addressing a large meeting at Columbia, said 
'•that the forts in the harbor had their guns pointed upon the 
city," and he called upon the people to go down and turn these guns 
backward.* The occupants of the fort were called hirelings and 
mercenaries, and every effort was made to stimulate the people 
and excite them against the garrison. In the Legislature a 
motion was made by Mr. R. B. Rhett that the forts be taken at 
once. This was seconded, but the motion was postponed by the 
influence of the more conservative men. 

At Castle Pinckney all of the guns and carriages were placed 
in good working order, but the general work was delayed, as the 
Charleston merchants refused to sell to the engineer ofificer, as an 
agent of the United States, the necessary lumber. 

The embrasure shutters of the main gate were repaired and 
secured, the cisterns rebuilt, and work upon the wooden ban- 
quettes in the half-bastion commenced. The working party at 
Castle Pinckney were picked men, and the engineer officer 
believed them to be wholly reliable for service against any mob 
that should assault the fort. 

Work had rapidly advanced also at Fort Sumter, upon which 
150 men were actually at work. The casemate arches for the 
second tier of guns were now completed, the flagging laid and the 
traverse rails mounted, but the construction of the embrasures had 
been delayed, as the material necessary had not yet arrived. 
The barracks for the men on the eastern side of the fort had been 
finished. The traverse stones of the first tier were reset ; the 
flagging of the second tier was laid, and the construction of the 
embrasures of that tier begun. But few of the guns had been 
mounted at Fort Sumter, as Major Anderson had recommended 



*This statement induced the Hon. John Tyler, of Virginia, to ask the 
President if it were true. 



CAPTAIN FOSTER' S IMPORTANT COMMUNICA TION. 



97 



a suspension of the armament until the future of the fort was 
more definitely determined. Nor did the engineer officer think 
it safe to proceed with the work, although everything was in 
readiness to mount all of the guns when it was deemed necessary 
and safe so to do. In communicating to his chief on the 2 2d of 
December the progress and completion of the work upon Fort 
Moultrie, Captain Foster had reported the presence of the guard- 
boats near the forts, whose movements had been of such a char- 
acter that on the night of the 20th the night-watch at Fort 
Sumter had reported to Lieutenant Snyder, the officer in charge 
of the work, the near presence of the guard-boat. Upon visiting 
the ramparts, Lieutenant Snyder found the vessel close under the 
west flank of the fort, apparently sounding. At Castle Pinckney 
another steamer remained close to the work, and when hailed by 
the night-watch as to her purpose, an answer was returned, " You 
will know in another week." In a report made to his chief, 
the engineer stated that he had taken no steps to ascertain the 
object of this espionage, as the recent orders of the War Depart- 
ment had assured hmi that every cause that might irritate the 
people must be avoided. This communication from Captain 
Foster was deemed so important that the officer in charge of the 
Engineer Bureau at Washington* took the letter in person to the 
Secretary of War on the 26th of December, and read it to him. 
After listening to the reading of the letter, the Secretary merely 
remarked that " it was very satisfactory," and expressed a wish 
that the troubles would pass without bloodshed. While com- 
mending the course of his subordinate, the officer in charge 
of the Engineer Bureau informs him that, although his several 
letters had been laid before the Secretary of War and instruc- 
tions for him earnestly requested, " thus far no such instructions 
had been received." 

This important communication, with its official indorsements, 
is here given entire: 

''Sullivan's Island, S. C, December 22, i860. 
" Col. R E. De Russy, 

*' Conwiandi?2g Corps of Etigineers, U. S. Army, Washington. 
D. C. : 

" Colonel : I feel it my duty to inform you that on the last 
two nights steamers from town have remained in the close vicinity 

♦Captain H. G. Wright, Corps of Engineers. 



98 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



of Fort Sumter, apparently with the object of maintaining guard 
over the fort. On the first night, that of the 20th, only one came. 
She approached from the direction of town, as though running for 
the wharf, and her movements attracting the attention of the 
watchman, he awoke Lieutenant Snyder, who, when he went upon 
the ramparts, found her close under the west flank, apparently 
sounding. She afterwards moved off to a second position about 
six hundred yards from the fort, and remained durmg the night. 
She showed no lights. On the same night this or another steamer 
reconnoitred and remained around Castle Pinckney for some 
time, and when hailed by the night-watch on the Castle as to 
what she wanted, some one replied, 'You will know in a week,' 
Last night two steamers kept watch around Fort Sumter. 

'* These steamers are the small harbor or coast steamers, and 
one of them was named the Nina. Judging it best not to incur 
any risk of an unpleasant occurrence, I have not taken any steps 
to ascertain the object of this surveillance, nor of those in com- 
mand of the steamers. The recent orders emanating from the 
War Department have given me the assurance that every cause 
that might irritate these people must be avoided. However mor- 
tifying it may be to know that there are no means for defense in 
Fort Sumter, and that the military men of the city have their eyes 
fixed upon it as the prize to obtain, I feel bound to carry out this 
idea in my every act. 

'* I do not even feel authorized to vary my present plan of 
operations, either by a reduction or an increase of force, although 
my expenses are very heavy, and my present liabilities barely 
covered by my requisitions just made. Whenever the Depart- 
ment desires that I may make a change of operations, I beg that 
it may soon be communicated to me. 

" At Fort Moultrie I am still exerting myself to the utmost to 
make it so defensible as to discourage any attempts to take it. 
The wet ditch is now completed. The whole of the east front is 
now raised by solid merlons, two barrels high, and in three posi- 
tions to a greater height, to serve for cavaliers. The guns are 
provided with good siege-battery embrasures, faced with green 
hides, and two of them 8-inch howitzers, one in addition fur- 
nished with musket-proof shutters working on an axis, elevated 
over the throat of the embrasure by supports on each side, and 
manoeuvred by double bars extending back over the gun. 

" A field howitzer has been put in position on the parapet at 
the northeast salient by means of a palmetto stockade, so as to 
sweep the vicinity of that angle better than it was before. 
Traverses to intercept shot from the sand-hills have been placed 
on the parapet and upon the terrepleins. 

'' The bridge connecting the barracks and guard - house is 
completed, the doors arranged with fastenings, doors cut through 
the partition walls of the barracks, trap-doors cut in the floors, and 



ENDORSEMENT OF CHIEF ENGINEER. 



99 



ladders made. The howitzers in the finished caponiere are put 
in good working order. The second caponiere was commenced 
yesterday morning, with a full force of masons, and by to-night 
was over six feet in height, with both embrasures completed. 
Major Anderson wanted me to adopt some more temporary con- 
struction, but I showed him that this would be far more valuable 
in the defense, and having the materials and masons ready, I 
could construct it just as quickly and cheaply. On Monday I 
shall erect a lookout tower, or sharpshooter stand, on top of the 
guard-house, at Major Anderson's request. I have stopped for 
the present the work upon the glacis in front of the sea front, and 
put all my force upon the above works. The glacis has, how- 
ever, assumed fine proportions, and is in fact nearly completed. 
One-half of the interior slope is well sodded, and half of the 
glacis slope covered with muck six inches thick. 

" It will take very little work to complete the whole of it, as 
soon as the present pressing work is finished. 

** Very truly yours, J. G. Foster, 

" Captain Efigineers." 
[Endorsement No. i.] 
Engineer Department, December 24, i860. 
" Respectfully submitted to the honorable Secretary of War for 
his information, and with the earnest request that the instructions 
solicited by Captain Foster may be promptly given. 

" H. G. Wright, 
" Captam of Engineers., in charged 

[Endorsement No. 2.] 
" Engineer Department, December 26, i860. 
" Respectfully referred to the honorable Secretary of War, 
and his attention urgently called to the within report as one of 
great importance. " H. G. Wright, 

*' Captaifi of Engineers, in charge," 

[Endorsement No. 3.] 

"Engineer Office, December 26, i860. 
** Have just seen the Secretary of War, and read to him the 
within letter. His only remarks in regard to it were that it was 
very satisfactory, and that he hoped, or thought, I don't distinctly 
remember which, that we should get over these troubles without 
bloodshed. He further said he did not wish to retain the letter 
— this in answer to my question. " H. G. W." 

Whatever agreement or understanding may have been entered 
into between the Government at Washington and those who acted 
for the State of South Carolina, in regard to the existing status in 
the harbor of Charleston, it is evident that Major Anderson had 
not been informed of it. After the transmission of the orders of 



i oo THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

the War Department by Major Buell he was left without further 
instructions, although reporting his position almost daily. The 
true nature of these orders seemed to have been regarded by the 
Government on the one hand and Major Anderson on the other 
in very different lights. By the former they were almost ignored, 
the President himself having apparently forgotten their existence, 
although the character of the order to be sent was discussed at 
a Cabinet meeting before their transmission to Major Anderson ; 
by the latter they were regarded, in their letter and spirit, as con- 
ferring upon him authority to act in case of " tangible evidence " 
that a hostile act was imminent, and of this he was to be the 
judge. Major Anderson believed that he had such tangible 
evidence. What he heard were the almost daily threats that his 
position would be attacked ; and these threats became more 
numerous and more positive after the State had passed the Ordi- 
nance of Secession. He knew that he could not long defend 
himself. What he saw was the nightly watch upon him lest he 
should transfer his command to the stronger and safer position ot 
Fort Sumter. It was this latter action on the part of the State 
authorities — wholly in violation of any agreement that might have 
been made — that impressed him beyond all others and mainly 
influenced his actions. Upon the 14th of December he wrote to 
a personal friend as follows :* 

" When I inform you that my garrison consists of only sixty 
effective men, that we are in a very indefensible work, the walls of 
which are only about fourteen feet high, and that we have within 
100 yards of our walls, sand-hills which command our work, and 
which afford admirable sites for their batteries and the finest 
covers for sharpshooters, and that besides this there are numerous 
houses, some of them within pistol-shot — you will at once see that 
if attacked in force, headed by any one not a simpleton, there is 
scarcely a probability of our being able to hold out long enough 
to enable our friends to come to our succor. 

" Trusting that, etc., 
(Signed.) " Robert Anderson," 

He had never ceased to urge upon the Government the necessity 
of action in regard to Fort Sumter. His opinions in regard to the 
importance of that work, the impossibility of any occupancy of the 
harbor by the Government troops should the State seize and gar- 
rison it, and his desire to occupy it, were no secrets to his officers. 



* From the Richmond Whig, December 24, i860. 



so UTH CA R OLINA COMMISSIONERS. \ o I 

On Monday, the 24th of December, the Commissioners appoint- 
ed by the Convention on the 21st, the day following the passage 
of the Ordinance of Secession, proceeded to Washington to treat 
with the Government for the delivery of the forts and public prop- 
erty within the limits of the State, and to negotiate generally in 
regard to the existing relations of the parties. 

The object of their mission was generally known, and Major 
Anderson had become convinced, as he had reported to his 
Government, that upon the success or failure of their mission an 
immediate attack upon him depended. It was the intention of the 
State authorities, and tacitly approved by the general sentiment 
of the people, that, the present status being preserved, there should 
be no authorized attack upon the public property until the Com- 
missioners formally sent by the Convention to Washington should 
have failed in their effort at negotiation. The apprehension enter- 
tained in some quarters of mob action, and even alleged by the 
President himself, had no place in the calculations of those who 
were now guiding the course of the State. Mob law or its 
measures were unknown in South Carolina, and the tone and 
temper of those in control were too well known to encourage its 
existence now. The earnestness of the authorities and people of 
the State seemed to have impressed itself more forcibly upon 
Major Anderson since the visit of Major Buell and the departure 
of the Commissioners to Washington, and he felt that upon him 
mainly the responsibility of a conflict seemed to rest. A change 
in his manner was evident to the officers about him, who inferred 
the reception of unwelcome news. His whole desire was to avoid 
bloodshed, and he believed that if he and his command, as the 
offending feature, were removed to a position of greater safety and 
more enlarged control, the issue would be at least postponed. 
When, then, the Commissioners had been formally sent to Wash- 
ington by the Convention, Anderson anticipated their reception 
and the rejection of their proposals by the Government; and 
believing that the critical moment as to his positition had come, 
he resolved to take advantage of the "tangible evidence" he 
believed he had, and to act under the plain instructions given to 
him through Major Buell. His determination to transfer his 
command to Fort Sumter was accordingly taken, and he proceeded 
to execute it. 



CHAPTER X. 

Major Anderson moves his command from Moultrie to Sumter on December 26, 
i860 —Excitement produced— Crowds come to the Island — Threats in con- 
sequence of movement — Governor sends Commissioners to Major Anderson 
— Orders Major Anderson to return — His refusal— Details of the interview 
— Commissioners return to Charleston — Raising the flag on Fort Sumter — 
The ceremonies. 

The morning of the 26th of December brought with it no 
apparent change in the relative status in the harbor of Charleston. 
The garrison of Fort Moultrie, following its ordinary routine of 
duty, were early at work in carrying out the preliminary instruc- 
tions of Major Anderson before his movement. 

The large number of women and children of the garrison 
and the necessary supplies were to be transferred apparently to 
Fort Johnson, an old barrack on the western shore of the harbor. 
The hospital, which had been established outside of Fort Moul- 
trie, was moved into the fort. Rumors were rife that a selection 
of the troops to make the attack upon Fort Moultrie had been 
determined upon in the city. To meet this, an order assigning 
to each ofificer his duty was read upon parade. 

Christmas of i860, with its attendant festivities, had come. 
Taking advantage of the day, as likely to divert from him tempo- 
rarily the close scrutiny under which he had labored for so long. 
Major Anderson pushed forward the preparations for the move- 
ment he had determined upon, under the disguise of preparation 
for action ; his intention being to accomplish his movement on 
Christmas Day, which was only prevented by rain. Orders were 
given for the immediate packing up of all articles considered 
essentia] in the transfer to Fort Johnson, and to all outward 
appearances the garrison of Fort Moultrie seemed to be on the 
very eve of action. 

A feeling prevailed that this movement was only preliminary to 
a conflict, and the co-operation of the men was actively manifested. 

Work upon the defenses went on with its accustomed vigor, 
and that upon Fort Moultrie was fast approaching completion. In 
Fort Sumter 150 men were actively at work under the engineer 



PREPARATION FOR MOVEMENT. 



103 



officer in charge, and at Castle Pinckney the necessary repairs 
were being rapidly pushed forward. To ensure secrecy in the 
movement, Major Anderson had not communicated his intention 
to any of his officers until their co-operation and assistance were 
indispensable. As the principal means of transportation for the 
troops were the boats in use by the Engineer Department at Fort 
Sumter and Castle Pinckney, and the assistance of the officers of 
that department was important, Lieutenants Snyder and Meade, 
the officers in charge of those works, were early informed of his 
purpose and intention. By noon the women and children had 
embarked upon the two lighters in readiness at the wharf at Sul- 
livan's Tsland. The provisions for four months had been put on 
board, and Lieutenant Hall, the adjutant of the post, who had 
been put in charge by Major Anderson, received, for the first 
time, his orders to proceed towards Fort Johnson. He was not 
to land, but to await the firing of two signal guns from Fort Moul- 
trie, when he was to make all sail for Fort Sumter, as the 
report of those guns would inform him that the command had 
safely arrived there. The unusual number of lighters (three) at 
the wharf had attracted attention. 

Two citizens presented themselves to watch the operations. 
They followed the movements of Lieutenant Hall everywhere 
except into the fort itself, and finally demanded of him the reason 
for the transfer of so large an amount of provisions. An evasive 
answer was given, when the men left at once for the steamer for 
Charleston, which postponed its departure until the lighters had 
left. Through an oversight, one box marked " A thousand ball 
cartridges " had been put on board. A boat of the Chief Engi- 
neer came to the lighter, which had grounded, and removed the 
box, and this action seemed to satisfy another citizen, who had 
watched the whole operation and who soon afterwards left. Prep- 
arations for the defense of the work went steadily on through 
the day. Intending to visit the city, the writer found that the 
boats had been sent on other duty, when he crossed to Fort 
Sumter. While there he was led to believe, from a conversation 
with the officer in charge, that something unusual might be expected 
to occur, and he was earnestly advised to return to Fort Moultrie 
and remain there.* Upon reaching the fort he joined Major 



* "Crawford," said he, " go back to Fort Moultrie, and don't take yoi-r 
eyes off Anderson," 



I04 ^^'^" GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Anderson upon the parapet of the work looking seaward. A large 
steamer of the Savannah line was passing southward in the offing. 
She had arrested her course for a moment, as if to enter the 
harbor. The attention of Major Anderson was called to it by the 
writer. Anderson watched the steamer with great earnestness, 
when, turning to the writer he said: "I hope she will not attempt 
to come in. It would greatly embarrass me. I intend to move 
to Fort Sumter to night." Enjoining the utmost secrecy as to his 
statement, he replied, in answer to a question as to the disposition 
to be made of the hospital department, that he had determined to 
leave it in the fort as it was, until the next morning ; that it was 
less likely to be disturbed in case of any interference by the 
troops of the State than other interests which it was important to 
transfer at once. The defensive preparations went on steadily 
until ''retreat roll-call" — when the order was given to evacuate 
the fort. Shortly after dusk the movement began. The cea was 
still, the moon shining brightly. Three six-oared barges and two 
four-oared boats were in readiness on the beach below the fort. 
Half an hour before starting. Major Anderson sent for Captain 
Doubleday, whose company formed part of the garrison, and 
informed him of his intention to transfer his command to Fort 
Sumter ; that he wished him to have twenty men under arms, 
with knapsacks, to go in the first boat. 

Sending his family with those of the other officers at once to 
safe quarters upon the island, Captain Doubleday formed his men 
without delay and marched them to the boats, leaving the remain- 
der, under the charge of First Lieutenant J. C. Davis, to await 
transportation. Major Anderson was awaiting the appearance of 
the men at the gateway of the fort, when he led the way in person 
to the boats. The men entered the three boats awaiting them, 
silently and in order. Their arms were so disposed as to avoid 
attracting attention in the bright moonlight, and when all was in 
readiness, Lieutenant Snyder, the engineer officer in charge at 
Fort Sumter in the leading boat, accompanied by Major Anderson 
with the flag of the garrison, they pushed off from shore. They 
were followed by Lieutenant Meade, the engineer officer in charge 
at Castle Pinckney, in his boat, while Captain Doubleday with 
the rest of the men followed in the remaining boat. When 
half-way across the channel, one of the boats which for several 
nights had been used as a guard-boat to cruise between the forts, 



COMMAND CROSSES TO FORT SUMTER. 105 

made its appearance directly in the path of the rearmost boat. 
To avoid her the boats under Major Anderson and Lieutenant 
Meade diverted their course along Sullivan's Island. Captain 
Doubleday's boat pushed directly across and was the first to 
arrive. For the moment it was thought best to turn back, but the 
men took off their hats and coats, concealing their arms and belts, 
so as to give themselves the appearance of workmen, and the boat 
pushed on. The steamer passed close by — within a distance of 
100 yards — but instead of being upon her ordinary mission she was 
in the act of towing a vessel to the harbor bar. This was the only 
night since the establishment of the guard that the service had 
been interrupted. A second boat, the Emma, lay at her wharf in 
Charleston with the armed force on board, ready to move down 
the harbor on her usual tour of duty. She was awaiting the orders 
which were regularly transmitted by an aide-de-camp from the 
Governor's headquarters, but which, from some unexplained rea- 
son, failed to come at the usual hour, and the boat was still at 
her dock when the signal guns were fired from Moultrie. The 
officers on board thought that they had been forgotten, when, 
after the shots were fired. Colonel Pettigrew, an aide-de-camp of 
the Governor, came hastily to the boat and asked for an explana- 
tion of the firing, and at once ordered her upon her mission. But 
it was then too late; the command had crossed without interrup- 
tion, which, had the guard-boat been present at her usual hour and 
carried out her orders, it would have been impossible to accom- 
plish. Upon reaching Fort Sumter the command disembarked 
amid the surprise and protests of the workmen, who gathered 
about the boat and demanded the reason for the presence of the 
soldiers. Many of them wore the secession cockade. Captain 
Doubleday landed his men, formed them, and advanced into the 
work. One of the workmen approached the sentinel, cheering 
for the Union. He was at once checked, ordered into the fort, 
and all noise forbidden. Half of the command that had arrived 
were put at once on guard. Sentinels were placed over the main 
gate outside and in, and upon the ramparts, as it was apprehended 
that a disturbance might arise among the workmen. The boats 
returned at once for the remamder of the troops. At Fort Moul- 
trie the greatest caution was used as the boats passed and returned. 
In accordance with the special instructions of Major Anderson 
two of the heavy guns bearing upon the channel towards Fort 



I06 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Sumter, had been loaded, and orders given to Captain Foster, who 
had been left in charge at Fort Moultrie, that if there should be 
any attempt to interfere with the passage of the boats upon the 
part of the guard-boat, he was to fire upon her. As the guard- 
boat approached she was recognized at once. It was the Nina, 
and her appearance was familiar to us. It was a moment of sus- 
pense, as those who were left immediately manned the guns, which 
were trailed directly upon a point she must pass. Directing our 
glasses upon her, the writer discovered, as she crossed the broad 
belt of moonlight that stretched across the channel, that she was in 
the act of towmg a vessel. This was at once made known, and she 
was allowed to pass. Captain Doubleday's boat crossed her bow 
within loo yards, and rising and sinking upon the swell of the 
sea, she was soon lost to view in the dark shadow of the fort. 
Three trips were made by the boat, including one for the bedding 
and other articles for immediate use. The last boat had now 
passed over without molestation, when in accordance with the pre- 
vious instructions of Major Anderson, two signal guns were fired 
from Fort Moultrie, the writer firing the second. The report of 
these guns was to announce to Lieutenant Hall — who, in command 
of the lighters with the women, children and stores on board, was 
now off Fort Johnson — the transference of the command to Fort 
Sumter and his duty to make all sail for that work. Lieutenant 
Hall acted with promptness, although not without the opposition 
of a captain of one of the lighters, who refused to proceed to 
Fort Sumter and only yielded to force. All had now been ac- 
complished, and by eight o'clock the entire command at Fort 
Moultrie had been successfully transferred within the walls of 
Fort Sumter. Immediately after the transfer of his command 
Major Anderson made the following report to his Government: 

" Fort Sumter, South Carolina, 

" December ^6, i860. 1. 

., ^ " 8 p : M. 

" Colonel : 

" I have the honor to report that I have just completed, by the 

blessing of God, the removal to this fort of all my garrison, 

except the surgeon, four non-commissioned officers and seven 

men. We have one year's supply of hospital stores and about four 

months' supply of provisions for my command. I left orders to 

have all the guns at Fort Moultrie spiked, and the carriages of 

the 32-pounders, which are old, destroyed. I have sent orders to 

Captain Foster, who remains at Fort Moultrie, to destroy all the 



DESTRUCTION OF THE GUN CARRIAGES. 



107 



ammunition which he cannot send over. The step which I have 
taken was, in my opinion, necessary to prevent the effusion of 
blood. 

" Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

'■'■ Robert Anderson, 
^^ Major First Artillery. 
" Colonel S. Cooper, Adjutant-Gencrair 

But the firing of the signal guns was not the only duty con- 
fided to the officers left at Fort Moultrie. When the command 
had crossed, the further instructions of Major Anderson were 
complied with. The guns in the entire battery were spiked and 
rendered temporarily useless, and the flag-staff was so cut as to 
break in its fall upon the parapet and fall into the ditch. The 
writer then left the work and crossed to Fort Sumter. Lieutenant 
Davis, who with the remainder of Captain Doubleday's company 
had followed the command, returned to Fort Moultrie for some 
personal effects and remamed with Captain Foster during the 
night. A detail of four non-commissioned officers and seven men 
were left to assist Captain Foster in carrying out the instructions 
of Major Anderson. The night passed without incident. Soon 
after the transference of this command, the guard-boat Ejtima, 
with its armed force on board, made its appearance, long after its 
accustomed hour, and took up its position near the forts. It 
remained during the night, apparently unaware that its mission 
had ended. 

Early on the morning of the 27th the writer returned to Fort 
Moultrie for the purpose of directing the transfer of the hospital 
department to Fort Sumter. Upon approaching the work a heavy 
column of smoke appeared above the parapet. Upon entering, it 
was found that in accordance with the orders of Major Anderson 
the gun-carriages which supported the heavy armament in the 
southwest angle of the work, and which bore directly upon Fort 
Sumter, were in process of destruction. Two had already been 
set on fire under the direction of Captain Foster and Lieutenant 
Davis, who were assisted by the writer in the destruction of the 
remainder, five of the guns thus falling from their beds upon the 
parapet. The day was passed in transferring to the lighters 
which had returned to Fort Moultrie a large supply of ammuni- 
tion, and the entire hospital department with its one year's 
supply of stores, leaving one month's and a half supply of pro- 



I08 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL V/AR. 

visions, the entire supply of fuel, a small quantity of ammunition 
and some personal effects of the men. As the seizure of the 
arsenal in Charleston and the forts in the harbor by the troops of 
the State was in progress, great anxiety arose for the safety of 
the lighters. One of them, with the ammunition and the hospital 
property on board, had left the wharf before noon, but had been 
becalmed, and it was feared that she would be seized, when Major 
Anderson directed Lieutenant Hall to proceed in one of the boats 
with a few men to remove her freight. The boat's crew of work- 
men refused to take him on such an errand, when shortly after 
the lighter arrived safely at the fort. 

Meantime, it soon became known that some extraordinary 
action upon the part of the garrison at Fort Moultrie had taken 
place. An intense excitement followed, which soon spread to 
Charleston and through the State. It was some time before 
what had exactly occurred was known to the inhabitants of Sul- 
livan's Island, but the deserted parapet, the barred entrance, the 
missing flag- staff, the heavy smoke-cloud hanging over the fort, 
and the sudden suspension of the work, all indicated some change 
of an unusual character. A rumor had been spread that Fort 
Moultrie was in flames, and every boat that came to the island 
brought crowds of excited people. Men connected with the lead- 
ing papers came down, anxiously inquiring as to the truth of the 
many rumors, until now unbelieved; crowds hung around the work 
all day, commenting upon the action of Major Anderson and 
threatening immediate attack. 

In Fort Sumter the sudden arrival of the command produced 
a decided impression among the workmen. On the 15th of 
December a meeting had been held among themselves, and they 
had determined that they would take no part in any contest with 
the troops of the State. The sudden seizure of the fort con- 
vinced them that a struggle was imminent, and many of them left 
the work and returned to Charleston. 

Meantime, the fact of the evacuation of Fort Moultrie by 
Major Anderson was soon communicated to the authorities and 
people of Charleston, creating intense excitement. Crowds col- 
lected in the streets and open places of the city, and loud and 
violent were the expressions of feeling against Major Anderson 
and his action. Military organizations paraded the streets, and 
threats were made that they would be heard from before twenty- 



THE GOVERNOR'S ACTION. 



109 



four hours, and that bloodshed was now unavoidable. Anderson 
was pronounced a traitor, and it was claimed that his act would 
concentrate the South. The Governor of the State was ready to 
act in accordance with the feeling displayed. On the morning 




MAJOR Anderson's quarters, fort sumter. 

of the 27th he despatched his aide-de-camp, Colonel Johnson 
Pettigrew, of the First South Carolina Rifles, to Major Anderson. 
He was accompanied by Major Ellison Capers, of his regiment. 
Arriving at Fort Sumter, Colonel Pettigrew sent a card inscribed, 



I lo THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

" Colonel Pettigrew, First Regiment Rifles, S. C. M., Aide-de- 
camp to the Governor, Commissioner to Major Anderson. Elli- 
son Capers, Major First Regiment Rifles, S. C. M." Major 
Anderson, with his ofificers, was in a small room in the second story 
of the officers' quarters in the gorge of the work, where they had 
passed the night. Colonel Pettigrew and his companions were 
ushered into the room. The greeting was reserved and formal, 
when, after declining seats. Colonel Pettigrew immediately opened 
his mission. 

"Major Anderson," said he, "can I communicate with you 
now, sir, before these officers, on the subject for which I am here .■* " 

"Certainly, sir," replied Major Anderson ; "these are all my 
officers ; I have no secrets from them, sir." 

The Commissioner then informed Major Anderson that he 
was directed to say to him that the Governor was much surprised 
that he had reinforced "this work." Major Anderson promptly 
responded that there had been no reinforcement of the work ; 
that he had moved his command from Fort Moultrie to Fort 
Sumter, as he had a right to do, being in command of all the forts 
in the harbor. 

To this Colonel Pettigrew replied that when the present Gov- 
ernor (Pickens) came into office, he found an understanding 
existing between the previous Governor (Gist) and the President 
of the United States, by which all property within the limits of 
the State was to remain as it was ; that no reinforcements were to 
be sent here, and particularly to this post ; and that there was to 
be no attempt made against the public property here by the State; 
and that the status in the harbor should remain unchanged. He 
was directed, also, to say to Major Anderson that it had been 
hoped by the Governor that a peaceful solution of the difficulties 
could have been reached, and that a resort to arms and bloodshed 
might have been avoided ; but that the Governor thought that 
the action of Major Anderson had greatly complicated matters ; 
and that he did not now see how bloodshed could be avoided ; 
that he had desired, and intended, that the whole matter might be 
fought Out politically and without the arbitration of the sword, 
but that now it was uncertain, if not impossible. 

To this Major Anderson replied that, as far as any under- 
standing between the President and the Governor of the State 
was concerned, he had not been informed ; that he knew nothing 



SEl/DS COMMISSIONERS TO ANDERSON. \ \ \ 

of it, that he could get no information or positive orders from 
Washington, and that his position was threatened every night by 
the troops of the State. He was then asked by Major Capers, 
who accompanied Colonel Pettigrew, " How?" when he replied, 
" By sending out steamers armed and carrying troops on board; 
that these steamers passed the fort going north; and that he 
feared a landing on the island and the occupation of the sand- 
hills just north of the fort ; and that one hundred riflemen on 
that hill, which commanded his fort, would make it impossible 
for his men to serve their guns; and that any man with a military 
head must see this. To prevent this " (said he, earnestly) " I 
removed on my own responsibility, my sole object being to pre- 
vent bloodshed." 

Major Capers replied that the steamer was sent out for patrol 
purposes, and as much to prevent disorder among his own people 
as to ascertain whether any irregular attempt was being made to 
reinforce the fort, and that the idea of attacking him " was never 
entertained by the little squad who patroled the harbor." 
Major Anderson replied to this, that he was totally in the dark as 
to the intentions of the State troops, but that he had reason to 
believe that they meant to land and attack him from the north; 
that the desire of the Governor to have the matter settled peace- 
fully and without bloodshed was precisely his own object in 
transferring his command to Fort Sumter ; that he did it upon 
his own responsibility alone, and because he considered that the 
safety of his command required it, and as he had the right to do. 
"In this controversy" said he, "between the North and the 
South, my sympathies are entirely with the South. These gentle- 
men," said he (turning to the officers of the post who stood about 
him), " know it perfectly well." And he added that his sense of 
duty to his trust as commander in the harbor was first with him, 
and had influenced his determination to do his duty to the 
Government. Colonel Pettigrew then replied, " Well, sir, how- 
ever that may be, the Governor of the State directs me to say to 
you, courteously but peremptorily, to return to Fort Moultrie." 
" Make my compliments to the Governor, and say to him that I 
decline to accede to his request; I cannot and will not go back," 
said Major Anderson. " Then, sir," said Colonel Pettigrew, " my 
business is done ; " when both of the officers, without further cere- 
mony or leave-taking, left the fort. 



I I 2 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

The statement of Major Anderson as to his sympathies made 
a strong impression upon the ofificers who had borne the message 
of the Governor, and to whom they repeated his words. The 
manner of Major Anderson, while earnest, was courteous through- 
out the interview, and he entirely impressed the messengers that 
he was really most anxious to prevent bloodshed, and that the 
movement had been made, upon his part, with that view. 

At fifteen minutes before noon the command at Fort Sum- 
ter was ordered to parade. The band was placed upon the 
ramparts ; the command and guard were drawn up near the 
flag-staff, forming one side of a square, the workmen of the 
fort, 150 in number, forming the other sides ; Major Ander- 
son by the flag-staff with the halyards in his hand. The chaplain 
of the post stood in front, near the centre. When all was ready 
the command was brought to a " parade rest" and everyone uncov- 
ered. The chaplain made a prayer, in which, after expressing 
gratitude to God for our safe arrival in the work, ht prayed that 
our flag might never be dishonored, but soon float again over the 
whole country, a peaceful and prosperous nation. When the 
prayer was finished. Major Anderson, who had been kneeling, arose,* 
the battalion presented arms, the band played the National Air, 
and the flag went to the head of the flag- staff, amid the loud and 
earnest huzzas of the command. 



CHAPTER XL 

Seizure and occupancy of the forts in the harbor by the State — I^ieutenant 
Meade at Castle Pinckney — United States Custom House occupied by the 
State— Lieutenant Snyder sent on a special mission to the Governor — Inter- 
view — Memorandum of the Governor — Colonel Huger— State guard over the 
arsenal — Seizure and occupancy of the arsenal — Seizure of Fort Johnson — 
Location of sites for batteries to control the entrance to the harbor — Star of 
the West battery located — The Governor reports his action to the Convention. 

Upon the return of his messenger with the refusal of Major 
Anderson to return to Fort Moultrie, the Governor of the 
State at once proceeded to seize and occupy by military force 
the forts in the harbor and the arsenal in the city of Charleston. 
His aide-de-camp who had carried his demand to Major Ander- 
son was ordered by him to assemble the Washington Light 
Infantry and the Meagher Guards at the citadel in the city, to arm 
them there, and to take measures for occupying Castle Pinckney. 
He was to proceed under the following instructions: 

*' Headquarters, 
"Charleston, December 27, i860 
" To Colonel J. J. Pettigrew, 

'■'■Sir : You are ordered to take possession of Castle Pinckney. 
You are to act with the greatest discretion and prudence, and to 
let it be known that you take possession in the name of the Gov- 
ernor of South Carolina, and in consequence of the extraordinary 
orders executed last night in relation to Fort Moultrie, and with 
a view at present to prevent further destruction of public prop- 
erty, and as a measure of safety also. 

(Signed) "F. W. Pickens." 

A similar order was issued to Lieutenant-Colonel W. G. De 
Saussure, of the First Regiment of Artillery, instructing him to take 
possession of Sullivan's Island immediately after the seizure of 
Castle Pinckney. In accordance with his instructions. Colonel 
Pettigrew embarked a force consisting of the Washington Light 
Infantry, Captain Simonton, the Carolina Light Infantry, and the 
Meagher Guards upon a small transport and proceeded to Castle 
Pinckney, where, under the engineer ofificer in charge, Lieutenant 



ii4 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



R. K. Meade, the work of repair was steadily going on. About 
four o'clock in the afternoon the boat approached the work, when 
the officer in charge immediately closed and barred the main gate. 
The workmen, in alarm, rushed to the parapet, but were at once 
ordered to their quarters. Meantime, the force had landed, a 
portion of them proceeding to the main gate, which they found 
closed. A party with their rifles stood watching the parapet, 
while the remainder, placing the ladders ' they had brought 
against the walls, commenced an escalade. The commanding 
officer, Colonel Pettigrew, led the ascent ; stepping upon the 
parapet he encountered Lieutenant Meade, who approached 
him, when he demanded to know who was the commanding officer 
of the work. Lieutenant Meade replied that he was that officer, 
when Colonel Pettigrew informed him that he had been com- 
manded by the Governor of South Carolina to take charge of the 
work in the name of the State. 

Producing his orders, he commenced to read them, when he 
was interrupted by Lieutenant Meade, who said to him that he did 
not acknowledge the authority of the Governor to take possession 
of the work ; that he had no means of resistance, and could but 
enter his protest against any such proceedings. Colonel Petti- 
grew informed him that he was acting under the orders of the 
Governor, and would give receipts for the public property. Lieu- 
tenant Meade replied that as he did not acknowledge the authority 
of the Governor he declined to accept his receipts. Colonel 
Pettigrew, accompanied by Lieutenant Meade, then descended into 
the parade. Meanwhile, the wall had been scaled by others, who 
had unbarred the gate, when the troops immediately entered and 
were formed upon the parade. 

A sentinel was posted at once over the entrance, when Lieu- 
tenant Meade asked if his movements were to be restrained. 
Colonel Pettigrew replied, that while he did not propose to 
restrain his movements, he would not be permitted to return to 
the post if he left it that night ; that he did not mean to expel 
him from the post, and should ask for further instructions. Lieu- 
tenant Meade declined to give his parole, as he did not consider 
himself a prisoner of war. After stipulating for considerate 
treatment of the old ordnance sergeant and his family, until they 
could be removed elsewhere. Lieutenant Meade left the work at 
once for Fort Sumter. All of the Government property was 



CASTLE PINCKNEY OCCUPIED. 






ii5 




1 16 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAk. 

seized and appropriated, including one month's provisions. With 
the exception of two or three heavy guns on the barbette tier, 
and one 42-pounder in casemate, the armament of the fort was 
complete ; the magazine was well supplied, as the powder from 
the arsenal had been stored there; and in this condition Castle 
Pinckney passed under the flag of the State. 

Shortly after its occupation Lieutenant-Colonel De Saussure, 
in accordance with the orders received, having assembled 200 
picked men of the First Regiment of Artillery, S. C. M., pro- 
ceeded to Sullivan's Island. The command approached Fort 
Moultrie by the main streets. 

Approaching the work upon the west side, Colonel De Saussure 
and a small guard entered it and unbarred the gate, which had 
been closed by the sergeant or overseer of the engineer force, the 
solitary guardian of the work. A report had been spread, and 
generally believed, that the work was mined, and this became a 
subject of sensitive inquiry at every interview held with the State 
officials. With the exception of Colonel De Saussure himself and 
a few of his men, the troops of the State did not occupy Fort 
Moultrie on the night of its seizure. In the morning it was 
occupied permanently, and its armament, consisting of fifty-six* 
pieces of ordnance, including heavy and light guns, Columbiads 
and mortars, with their carriages and implements and a large 
supply of ammunition passed into the hands of the State. 

Both forts had now been seized and occupied by the State 
troops; and, as if to complete the seizure of the Government 
property, the officers attached to the United States Custom 
House, in obedience to an ordinance passed by the Convention on 
the 26th of December, entered into the service of the State and 
the flag of South Carolina was raised over the buildmg. 

Mail communication had been as yet undisturbed, and it was 
deemed important that the General Government should perform 
that service as long as possible. 

Two days after the Ordinance of Secession had been passed 
by the Convention, an order for $450 worth of postage-stamps 
was received at Washington from the Postmaster at Charleston 
for the use of that office, and at a later date the same ofificial 



* Sixteen 24-pounders, nineteen 32-pounders, ten 8-inch Columbiads, 
one lo-inch seacoast mortar, four 6-pounders, two 12-pounders, four 24-pound 
howitzers. Lieutenant-Colonel De Saussure's report, December 31, '60. 



LIEUTENANT SNYDER SENT TO THE GOVERNOR. \ \ y 

reported to the Postmaster-General at Washington, to say that he 
held himself responsible to the Federal Government for the 
revenue accruing to his office. 

The rapidity and secrecy of his movement from Fort Moultrie 
had compelled Major Anderson to leave, temporarily, many of the 
private effects of the officers and the clothing of the men. The 
necessity of securing these at once, as well as to provide for the 
safety of the women and children of the command in case of an 
attack upon him, induced him to send a special messenger to the 
Governor. Accordingly, early on the morning of the 30th of 
December, Lieutenant Snyder was sent to the city with a commu- 
nication from Major Anderson. His boats were seized by the 
police as soon as he had landed. He found the Governor at the 
Executive office amid a party of gentlemen who appeared to be 
acting in the capacity of a council. Lieutenant Snyder announced 
the object of his visit. He had come, he said, from Major 
Anderson, commanding Fort Sumter, to say that he hoped, if 
an attack was to be made upon him, that he should be informed, 
in accordance with civilized warfare, in time to remove the women 
and children and the non-combatants of his garrison to a place 
of safety. He desired to know, too, whether the private effects of 
the officers yet remaining at Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie 
would be returned to them. The Governor replied that Major 
Anderson was at liberty to remove the women and children to 
Sullivan's Island, and he offered them on his own part complete 
protection ; that the private effects of the officers might be 
removed to the city, and would be respected; but that for the 
present no other communication would be allowed between the 
garrison of Fort Sumter and the city except to carry and receive 
the mails, and that he exacted this to prevent any irregular 
collision or the unnecessary effusion of blood. 

A memorandum in writing and signed by Governor Pickens 
was handed to Lieutenant Snyder, of which the following is a 
copy. 

" Headquarters, 

" December 30, i860. 
*' In reply to Major Anderson's request, made this morning ver- 
bally through First Lieutenant Snyder from Fort Sumter, I hereby 
order and direct that free permission shall be given to him to send 
the ladies and camp women from Fort Sumter, with their private 
effects, to any portion of Sullivan's Island, and that entire protec- 



I 1 8 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

tion shall be extended to them. It is also agreed that the mails 
may be sent over to the officers at Fort Sumter by their boats, and 
that all the ladies of Captain Foster's family shall be allowed to 
pass, with their effects and the effects of any kind belonging to 
Captain Foster, from the Mills House to Fort Sumter, and the 
kindest regard shall be paid to them. Of course, Lieutenant 
Meade's private effects can be taken possession of, but for the 
present there shall be no communication of any other kind 
allowed from the city to the fort, or any transportation of arms 
or ammunition, or any supplies to the fort ; and this is done with 
a view to prevent irregular collisions, and to spare the unneces- 
sary effusion of blood. 

" F. W. Pickens." 

The Governor then asked if Lieutenant Snyder was of the 
opinion that Major Anderson would return to Fort Moultrie if 
ordered by the President. Lieutenant Snyder replied that Major 
Anderson would promptly obey any order of the President. 
Would his second in command, if ordered by himself (the Gov- 
ernor)? Lieutenant Snyder thought not, and expressed the opinion 
that there was no officer there who, if it devolved upon him, would 
return to Fort Moultrie if ordered by the Governor. 

In the city there was great excitement. Upon returning to 
the boats nothmg was allowed shipment but the baggage. The 
fresh meats and stores which had been put on board in Charleston 
were removed. 

Upon the same day Lieutenant Hall was sent by Major Ander- 
son to the officer in command of Fort Moultrie. He was to 
demand by what authority he had occupied that work. He was 
to ask, also, if any obstacle would be opposed to the removal of 
the private effects of the officers and the clothing of the men, 
with the wood and coal left there. 

The commandmg officer, Colonel W. G. De Saussure, replied 
that he occupied that work in the name of the sovereign State of 
South Carolina and by the authority of its Governor. He 
declined to permit the removal of any of the public property, but 
all private property would be respected, and he would assist in 
its removal. The public property he was ordered to secure, 
make an inventory of and protect. It would all be preserved and 
submitted to the Commissioners to negotiate upon, except the 
provisions left, and these he should use. 

Colonel De Saussure carried out his intentions m a kindly 
spirit, allowing no one to enter the fort until the property had 



SEIZURE OF THE ARSENAL. 



119 



been collected together and an inventory made, with the expec- 
tation of their removal. But a box of clothing had already been 
broken open and its contents scattered, the men appropriating the 
great-coats of the soldiers which had been left. The movement 
of Major Anderson was remarked by Colonel De Saussure as 
being one of "consummate wisdom," in a military point of view, 
but that it would greatly complicate matters. Meantime, owing 
to continued stormy weather^ no communication was held with 
Fort Moultrie for a few days, when Lieutenant Hall again visited 
that post for the purpose of securing the clothing and personal 
effects of the men. He was accompanied by Captain Foster, who 
crossed for the purpose of paying off the employees that had been 
at work under his control at Fort Moultrie. The commanding 
officer, Colonel De Saussure, had not changed his intention in 
regard to the subject, and suggested that these ofificers should 
return the next day, when Captain Foster might complete his pay- 
ments and the articles in question be removed. 

Meantime, Colonel De Saussure had been relieved by order of 
the Governor, that he might attend to his civil duties as a member 
of the Legislature, then in session at Charleston. Lieutenant- 
Colonel R. S. Ripley had succeeded him at Fort Moultrie. Brig- 
adier-General Dunovant was in command of the island, and upon 
the following morning, when Captains Foster and Seymour went 
to the island, they were arrested by General Dunovant's order. 
They were subsequently released and permitted to return to Sum- 
ter, when no further communication with Fort Moultrie took place. 

Having now taken possession of Castle Pinckney and Fort 
Moultrie, the Governor proceeded to seize the United States 
arsenal situated in the midst of the city of Charleston, with its 
large and valuable supply of ordnance and ordnance stores. 

The early possession of the arsenal had long been regarded 
as essential to the success of the movement now made by the 
State. Its defenseless condition, with its important and valuable 
stores, was well known to the Government, and as early as the 
month of November the War Department had ordered Brevet- 
Colonel Benj. Huger, of the Ordnance Department, to proceed 
to Charleston and assume command of the arsenal. Colonel 
Huger was a native of South Carolina, and from his ability, high 
standing and prominent social relations, he was deemed, under the 
existing circumstances, to be a suitable appointment. He was 



1 20 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

aware of the views of the Secretary of War, and it was believed 
that while he would maintain peaceable relations, he would at the 
same time protect the interests of the Government. Before 
assuming command on the 20th inst., he had visited Columbia, 
where he had held repeated conferences with the Governor of the 
State. 

Upon the ist of December Major Anderson was directed to 
confer with Colonel Huger upon matters which had been confided 
to each of them, as the latter had been recalled temporarily to 
Washington by the Secretary of War. For some unexplained 
reason Colonel Huger, who had been in command of the arsenal 
in Charleston but ten days, did not return to it, but, under instruc- 
tions from the Secretary of War, resumed his duties at Pikesville, 
N. C. ; and thus the United States arsenal in the city of 
Charleston, with its large and valuable supply of stores, was left 
without a commissioned officer of Ordnance, and under the 
charge of a military storekeeper and enlisted men, until its final 
and easy seizure by the troops of the State.* 

The attempt of Colonel Gardiner to obtain stores from the 
arsenal, and the sending of an officer to secure them, had greatly 
excited the people. Numbers gathered in the vicinity. Threats 
were made of an attack upon it, and a collision between the 
populace and the agents of the Government seemed to be 
unavoidable and imminent. The State authorities became 
anxious to prevent any premature act of violence, and yet were 
unwilling to repress actively the public feeling, in view of its 
political effect. It was under such circumstances that the 
Governor of the State (Gist), after an understanding with Colonel 
Huger, determined to establish a guard of State troops o\er the 
arsenal, and upon the 9th of November, after the election of 
Mr. Lincoln had become known, a guard, consisting of an officer 
and twenty men of the Washington Light Infantry, was tendered 
by the Governor and was accepted by the military storekeeper, 
who thus reported to his chief. 



♦"Colonel Huger joined the Confederacy. In a conversation with General 
De Saussure, during the war, he recalled the above circumstances, and said 
that he came to Charleston in the nature of an envoy from Mr. Buchanan and 
General Scott, whose ' plighted faith' he had that the status should not be 
changed, that General Scott had mislead him and compromised him with his 
people." — Getieral De Saussure tp Author. 



STATE GUARD AT THE ARSENAL. \ 2 I 

'* Charleston Arsenal, S. C, 

" November 12, i860. 
" Col H. K. Craig, 

" Chief of Ordnance^ U. S. A., Washington, D. C. 
" Sir: In view of the excitement now existing in this city and 
State, and the possibility of an insurrectionary movement on the 
part of the servile population, the Governor has tendered, through 
General Schnierle, of the South Carolina Militia, a guard, of a de- 
tachment of a lieutenant and twenty men, for this post, which has 
been accepted. Trusting that this course may meet the approval 
of the Department, I am, sir, 

" Very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 
"F. C. Humphreys, 
^ ^^ Military Storekeeper Ordnance, 

" Commander." 

* The guard was stationed within the arsenal enclosure, and 
sentinels were posted guarding every approach from all sides to 
the buildings. And this was continued until the night of the 23d 
of December, when they were relieved by the German Riflemen, 
Captain Small. 

While the presence of this guard might be relied upon to pro- 
tect the arsenal and its valuable stores from popular violence, it 
gave equal assurance that neither arms nor ammunition could now 
be moved from the arsenal to any of the forts in the harbor of 
Charleston. 

On the 28th of December the guard at that time on duty was 
increased in numbers, and closed around the arsenal, refusing 
ingress or egress to any one without the countersign, the officer 
in command disclaiming any "intention of occupancy." The 
military storekeeper in charge at once telegraphed the fact to his 
chief, sending the details by mail and asking instructions. 

None were sent to him. He had on the 29th protested against 
the indignity offered to him and his command, and had informed 
his Government that, if upon a proper request to the State 
authorities the troops were not removed, he would consider their 
action as an occupancy of the arsenal, and should haul down his 
flag and surrender. This communication was submitted by the 

*It was the posting of this guard that led Governor Pickens to assume that it 
was done with the acquiescence of the President, and which induced him to send 
a special messenger to Washington the day alter his inauguration to ask that the 
same authority be given to him in reference to Fort Sumter. The President had 
not given such authority. 



122 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

chief Ordnance officer in Washington to the Secretary of War 
on the I St of January. But meanwhile, the Governor of the State 
had determined to take entire possession of the arsenal. On the 
morning of the 29th of December, having selected Colonel John 
Cunningham, of the Seventeenth Regiment Infantry, S. C M., 
for the service, he directed him to take a detachment of select men, 
in the ** most discreet and forbearing manner," and proceed to the 
United States arsenal in Charleston, and there demand in his name 
its "entire possession." He was to state "distinctly" that this 
was done with a view to prevent any destruction of public property 
that might occur in the present excited state of the public mind, and 
also as due to the public safety. He was to take an inventory of 
the stores and of the condition of the arms. He was to read his 
orders to the military storekeeper who was in charge. If he 
refused to deliver the arsenal to him, he was to take it, using as 
much force as might be necessary. Great discretion and liberality 
were to be used towards Captain Humphreys, who was at liberty 
to remain, and indeed was requested to remain, in his present 
quarters as long as it might be agreeable to him. 

On the 30th, within half an hour after the receipt of the order, 
Colonel Cunningham, with a detachment from the Union Light 
Infantry, Captain Ramsay, which was on duty near the arsenal, 
proceeded to the quarters of Captain Humphreys and demanded, 
in writing, an immediate surrender of the arsenal under his charge 
and the delivery to him of the keys and contents of the arsenals, 
magazines, etc. He informs Captain Humphreys that he was 
already proceeding to occupy it with troops, and that he occupied 
it in the name of the Governor, and by virtue of orders from him. 
Captain Humphreys replied to this demand, in writing, that he was 
constrained to comply with his demand for the surrender of the 
arsenal, as he had no force for its defense, but that he did so under 
protest. He demands as a right to salute his flag, and that his men 
be allowed to occupy their quarters until instructions could be 
obtained from the War Department. This was accorded by Col- 
onel Cunningham, whose men at once occupied the arsenal grounds 
and buildings, opened the arsenals and magazines, and commenced 
an issue of the property. In his report* to Governor Pickens, Col- 
onel Cunningham states that " the dignity, courtesy, frankness and 



Official report of Colonel Cunningham, 



BATTERIES ESTABLISHED ON THE CHANNEL. 



123 



conduct of Captain Humphreys" enabled him "to establish the most 
pleasant and even confiding relations with him," and that Captain 
Humphreys had facilitated his operations in every way consistent 
with his duties. Some of the employees passed into the service of 
the State. The value of the stores seized was estimated by the 
officer who occupied the work at $400,000. On the morning of 
the 30th the military storekeeper reported by telegram to his chief 
in Washington, that the arsenal in his charge had that day been 
seized by force of arms. 

On the same day, and by the same authority, " Fort Johnson 
and the adjacent grounds" were seized and occupied by a detach- 
ment of State troops under the command of Captain Jos. Johnson, 
Jr.; and a large supply of fuel belonging to the Government, and 
^hose want was greatly felt by the garrison at Fort Sumter, passed 
into the hands of the State. The destruction or removal of any 
of the public stores was forbidden by the Governor in his orders to 
the officer in command, and he was also to intercept any parties 
from Fort Sumter and to prevent any communication with that 
work. Nothing but the mails was allowed to be sent. 

Having now obtained possession of the unoccupied forts and 
arsenal, the Governor proceeded immediately to establish batteries 
for the control of the harbor. On the morning of the 29th of 
December orders were issued to his chief engineer officer to pro- 
ceed to some suitable point on Morris Island beyond Fort 
Sumter, to associate himself with the ordnance officer, Colonel 
Manigault, and to select a location for a battery to bear upon the 
ship channel, and to erect "the same as soon as possible;" two 
24-pounders were to be sent at once, and the number was to be 
increased. A point upon Sullivan's Island was also to be selected 
by the same officers, and a battery established beyond Fort 
Moultrie and out of the range of guns from Fort Sumter, " to 
guard the harbor and to prevent reinforcements to the garrison. 

The orders of the Governor were carried into immediate exe- 
cution and Major P. F. Stevens, commanding the Citadel 
Academy, with a detachment of forty cadets and two 24-pounders, 
was ordered to Morris Island to assist in the erection of the bat- 
tery. The Vigilant Rifles, under Captain Tucker, numbering 
ninety men, were sent at once to the assistance and protection of 
Major Stevens. The work was soon done, and two 24-pound guns 
were after some difficulty mounted, protected by the natural sand- 



124 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 




CO VERiSfOR REPOR TS AC TION. \ 2 5 

hills from the guns of Sumter. Another gun was added, making 
a battery of three guns, and it was the intention of the Governor 
to replace them by heavy Columbiads as soon as it was possible 
to do so. It was this battery, thus constituted, that fired upon 
the Star of the West. But the defensive measures of Governor 
Pickens were not yet completed^ On the same day that orders 
were issued for the establishment of the batteries on Morris and 
Sullivan's islands, he directed a force under Colonel Charles Alston, 
commandmg the Thirty-second Regiment, S. C. M., to proceed 
immediately to the most exposed points between the harbor of 
Charleston and the North Carolina line, and there,with the assistance 
of the engineer force, to establish batteries to protect the entrances 
to the bays and rivers on the coast. 

His work was now complete, and he transmitted to the Con- 
vention the following communication: 

" Executive Department, 
"28th December, i860. 
"To the Hon. D. F. Jamison, 
" President of the Convention. 

" Sir : As the Convention sent for me yesterday to be informed 
upon important matters, I take occasion to say that under my order 
Castle Pinckney was taken last evening, and the United States flag 
hauled down, and the Palmetto banner run up in its place; and I 
also ordered a detachment from an artillery regiment to occupy 
Sullivan's Island, and, if it could be done without any immediate 
danger from mines, or too great loss of life, to take Fort Moultrie 
and run up the Palmetto flag, and to put the guns in immediate 
preparation for defense. I have now full possession of these two 
forts. I considered the evacuation of Fort Moultrie, under all the 
circumstances, a direct violation of the distinct understanding 
between the authorities of the Government at Washington, and 
those who were authorized to act on the part of this State, and 
bringing on a state of war. 

" I therefore thought it due to the safety of the State that I 
should take the steps I have. I hope there is no immediate danger 
of further aggression for the present. 
"Respectfully, 

(Signed) " F. W. Pickens." 

Later, in his message to the Legislature on Novembers, 1861, 
he says: "In taking Castle Pinckney, Fort Moultrie and the late 
United States arsenal, we acquired large supplies of heavy ord- 
nance, arms and munitions of war. As we took the responsibility 
of acting alone, and of risking all, we were fairly entitled to all 
we acquired." 



CHAPTER XII. 

Restricted means of the garrison — Anderson assumes definite position — His 
opinions — Does not now ask for reinforcement — His letter of January 6 — 
Reasons for his movement to Sumter —Personal views in his private letters 
to a friend in Charleston and to his former rector at Trenton, N. J. — Action 
of the engineer laborers —Increased activity in the harbor— Lights put 
out — Accidental notice of saihng of the Star of the West — Large force of 
workmen landed — Arming of fort pushed rapidly on — Short rations — Offi- 
cers go to Fort Moultrie for their private effects —Threatened with arrest — 
Return to Sumter— West Point graduates sent to assist the men — Forts 
permanently occupied — Action of Board of Pilots — Governor issues procla- 
mation forbidding entrance of any vessel bearing aid or supplies to the 
garrison — His instruction to his officers at Moultrie and the arsenal. 

From the moment of his entry into Fort Sumter, Major Ander- 
son found himself surrounded by difficulties which he had not anti- 
cipated. His movement had been made with so much secrecy 
and despatch that he was without any supply of fuel ; and many 
minor articles essential to him were wanting. He confesses that 
there was yet something to do before he should feelindependent, as 
the work was not impregnable, as he had understood it to be. The 
memorandum of the Governor dissatisfied him, as he considered 
that he treated him as an enemy; and the suspension of all inter- 
course with the city, except in the transmission of his mails, m thus 
depriving him of the opportunity of purchasing fresh provisions, 
added to his embarrassment. Still, he deemed himself "safe," and 
he thanked God that he was now where the Government might send 
him additional troops at its leisure, and that he could command 
the harbor as long as the Government wished to keep it. 

It was now the 6th of January, and Anderson had already begun 
to assume definite position. He thought that he could hold Fort 
Sumter against any force which could be brought against him; he 
was daily increasing the strength of his position, and his command 
" was in excellent health and in fine spirits." He would not ask 
for any increase of his command, as he did not know the ulterior 
views of the Government; but he no less pointedly repeated that 
he was, or soon would be, cut off from all communication unless 
the batteries at the mouth of the harbor should be carried by a 
powerful fleet. His communication was as follows: 

za6 



ANDERSON'S REPORT TO HIS GOVERNMENT. i 27 

" Fort Sumter, S. C, January 6, 1861. 
"Col. S. Cooper, Adjutant-General: 

Colonel: Through the courtesy of Governor Pickens I am 
enabled to make this communication, which will be taken to Wash- 
ington by my brother, Larz. Anderson, Esq. I have the honor 
to report my command in excellent health and in fine spirits. 
We are daily adding to the strength of our position by closing up 
embrasures which we shall not use, mounting guns, etc. The South 
Carolinians are also very active in erecting batteries and prepar- 
ing for a conflict, which I pray God may not occur. Batteries 
have been constructed bearing upon and, I presume, commanding 
the entrance to the harbor. They are also to-day busily at work 
on a battery at Fort Johnson intended to fire against me. My 
position will, should there be no treachery among the workmen, 
whom we are compelled to retain for the present, enable me to hold 
this fort against any force which can be brought against me, and 
it would enable me, in the event of a war, to annoy the South Car- 
olinians by preventing them from throwing supplies into their new 
posts except by the out-of-the-way passage though Stono River. 
At present it would be dangerous and difficult for a vessel from 
without to enter the harbor, in consequence of the batteries which 
are already erected and being erected. I shall not ask for any 
increase of my command, because I do not know what the ulterior 
views of the Government are. We are now, or soon will be, cut 
off from all communication, unless by means of a powerful fleet, 
which shall have the ability to carry the batteries at the mouth of 
this harbor, 

" Trusting in God that nothing will occur to array a greater 
number of States than have already taken ground against the Gen- 
eral Government, 

"I am, Colonel, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" Robert Anderson, 
''Major, First Artillery, Commanding." 

He explains, too, the reason for his movement to Fort 
Sumter. " Many things convinced " him that the authorities of 
the State designed to proceed to a hostile act, and he deemed it 
to be his solemn duty to move his command from a position 
which could not have been held more than forty-eight or sixty 
hours, to one where his power of resistance was greatly increased, 
and the more he reflected upon the movement he had made, the 
stronger were his convictions that he was right in making it; that 
his safety in Fort Moultrie depended only upon the forbearance 
of the State, while Fort Sumter might have been seized at any 
moment, and he would then <' have been in their power;" and he 
made the unanswerable argument that if such understanding as 



128 THE GENESIS OF THE ClVlL WAR. 

was alleged or claimed to have existed between the " two 
Governments " had any force, the fact of the Governor having 
ordered armed steamers to keep watch over him, would have 
released the Government at Washington ** from any obligation to 
remain quiescent." He was convinced, too, that upon the failure 
of the mission to Washington, an attack would have been made 
upon him and his command sacrificed. But besides the report to 
the Government, Major Anderson in private letters has freely set 
forth the sentiments that controlled his action. Upon the day 
after his movement to Fort Sumter, he addressed to Mr. Robert 
N. Gourdin, a prominent citizen of Charleston, a mem.ber of the 
Convention, and with whom he was upon terms of personal 
intimacy, the following communication, which was read by Mr. 
Gourdin to the Convention, then in session: 

"Fort Sumter, Charleston, S. C, December 27, i860. 
^'' My dear Sir : I have only time to say that the movement of 
my command to this place was made on my own responsibility 
and not in obedience to orders from Washington. I did it because 
in my opinion it was the best way of preventing the shedding of 
blood. God grant that the existing condition of affairs may be 
adjusted without any resort to force. 

" Truly your friend, Robert Anderson. 
"The Hon. Robert N. Gourdin." 

His friend, however, strongly objected to and condemned the 
movement, as calculated to complicate and embarrass the condi- 
tion of things, and so informed Major Anderson ; when on the 
29th of December Major Anderson replied to him, as follows : 

" Fort Sumter, South Carolina, December 29, i860. 

" My dear Sir : No one will regret more deeply than I shall, 
should it prove true that the movement I have made has compli- 
cated rather than disembarrassed affairs. There is an unaccount- 
able mystery in reference to this affair. I was asked by a 
gentleman within a day or two, if I had been notified by your 
Government that I would not be molested at Fort Moultrie, and 
when I replied that I had not been so notified, he remarked that 
he was glad to hear it, as it convinced him that I had acted in 
good faith, having just told him that I had not received such an 
intimation from my own Government. Now if there 7vas such an 
understanding, I certainly ought to have been informed of it. 

" But why, if your Government thought that I knew of this 
agreement, was everything done which indicated an intention to 
attack ? Why were armed steamers kept constantly on the watch 



PRIVA TE letter of MAJOR ANDERSON. 129 

for my movements ? The papers say that I was under a panic. 
That is a mistake ; the moment I inspected my position I saw 
that the work was not defensible with my small command, and 
recommended, weeks ago, that we ought to be withdrawn. I 
remained, then, as long as I could under the fearful responsibility 
I felt for the safety of my command, and finally decided on 
Christmas morning that I would remove the command that day; 
and it would have been attempted that day if the weather had not 
proved inauspicious. Not a person of my command knew of my 
determination until that morning, and only on that 'day. The 
captains of the lighters are, I am sorry to see, threatened by the 
.Charlestonians for what they did. I do hope that they will not 
disgrace themselves by wreaking their wrath upon these men. 
They were employed to take the women and children, and food 
for them, to Fort Johnson, and were as innocent in the matter as 
any one. Another lighter was filled with commissary stores for 
the workingmen here, and her captain certamly is not blamable 
for bringing them. Not a soldier came in either of these vessels 
except the married men with their wives for Fort Johnson, and 
there was not an arm of any kind permitted to be taken on board 
those boats. Only one person on board those boats knew that 
F6rt Johnson was not their final destination, until the signal was 
given that the' command was in Fort Sumter. My men were 
transferred in our own boats, and were all, with the exception of 
those attached to the hospital, in the fort before 8 o'clock. So 
much in exoneration of the captains 

" I regret that the Governor has deemed proper to treat us as 
enemies, by cutting off our communication with the city, per- 
mitting me only to send for the mails. Now this is annoying, 
and I regret it. We can do without going to the city, as I have 
supplies of provisions, of all kinds, to last my command about 
five months, but it would add to our comfort to be enabled to 
make purchases of fresh meats and so on, and to shop in the city. 
The Governor does not know how entirely the commerce and 
intercourse of Charleston by sea are in my power. I could, if so 
disposed, annoy and embarrass the Charlestonians much more 
than they can me. With my guns I can close the harbor com- 
pletely to the access of all large vessels, and I might even cut off 
the lights, so as to seal the approach entirely by night. I do 
hope that nothing will occur to add to the excitement and bad 
feeling which exists in the city. No one has a right to be angry 
with me for my action. No one can tell what they would have 
done unless they were placed in the same tight place. . . . 
I write this note hurriedly, as I wish to acknowledge the receipt 
of your kind note, and to assure you that I am firmly convinced 
that, had you been in my place, and known no more of the politi- 
cal bearing of things than I did, you would have acted as I did. 

I know that if my action was properly explained to the people of 



I30 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



Charleston, they would not feel any excitement against me or my 
command. 

" Praying that the time may soon come, etc., 

" Robert Anderson." 

Upon the following day he wrote to his former rector at Tren- 
ton, N. J., the Rev. R. B. Duane, informing him of his movement 
and of his reasons for making it. His letter was as follows: 

" Fort Sumter, S. C , 
" December 30, i860. 

^' My dear Sir : Your most welcome letter of the 26th of 
December, received to-day, finds me, as you see, at Fort Sumter. 
God has been pleased to hear our prayers, and has removed me to 
this stronghold. Perhaps at the very moment you were writing to me 
I was by His guidance leading my little band across to this place. 
I left Fort Moultrie between 5 and 6 p. m., and had my command 
here by 8 o'clock the same evening. You say that you had mar- 
velled that I had not been ordered to hold Fort Sumter instead of 
Fort Moultrie. Much has been said about my having come here 
on my own responsibility. Unwilling to see my little band sacri- 
ficed, I determined, after earnestly awaiting instructions as long as 
I could, to avail myself of the earliest opportunity of extricating 
myself from my dangerous position. God be praised! He gave 
me the will and led me in the >vay. How I do wish that you could 
have looked down upon us when we threw the stars and stripes to 
the breeze, at 12 o'clock on the 27th ! . . . 

" I am now, thank God, in a place which will, by His helping, 
soon be made so strong that the South Carolinians will be madmen 
if they attack me. There are some alterations and some additions 
which I wish to have made. The Governor of this State has inter- 
dicted all intercourse with the city except that of sending and 
receiving letters, so that you see we are quasi enemies. Were I 
disposed to declare myself independent of, to secede from, the 
General Government and retaliate, I could cut Charleston off from 
her supplies, but I will show him that I am more of a Christian 
than to make the innocent suffer for the petty conduct of their 

Governor. 

*** ***** 

" Robert Anderson, 
'* You see it stated that I came here without orders. Fear not! 
I am sure I can satisfy any tribunal I may be brought before, that 
I was fully justified in moving my command." 

Work upon the fort was at once resumed, the mounting of the 
guns commenced, and the closing of the embrasures in the second 
tier rapidly pushed forward. 

When occupied by Major Anderson's command on the night 



CONDITION OF FORT SUMTER 



131 



of the 26th of December, Fort Sumter was in no condition for 
defense. 

There were but three 24-pounders mounted on the left of the 
upper or barbette tier, which however was ready for its armament. 
The second tier was wholly incomplete, without embrasures, and 
with forty-one openings eight feet square left in the wall. Twenty 
were closed with one-inch boards ; twenty-one were open, or 
partially closed only by dry brick. There was but one gun, 
and that for experimental purposes, yet mounted on that tier. 
On the lower tier, eleven 32-pounders had been mounted, and the 
posterns in the angles closed. The barracks for the men were 
unfinished, but, where tenable, were occupied by workmen. The 
officers' quarters were completed, and were occupied by the gar- 
rison. A large number of wooden structures crowded the parade. 
They were of the most temporary character and served as store- 
houses for the tools and material of the workmen, while all over 
the parade lay sand and rough masonry, and sixty-six guns with 
their carriages and 5,600 shot and shell. The main entrance was 
closed by double gates secured by bars, but they were insecure and 
weak. The seven loop-holed doors in the gorge were closed, as 
were also twelve ventilators of the magazine. 

Material for the construction of the work around the wharf 
and esplanade greatly obstructed the movements of the garrison. 
Work, however, was at once pushed with great vigor, and especi- 
ally with reference to the armament. Under the instructions of 
Major Anderson, the defense was to be limited to the upper and 
lower tiers, where guns were to be immediately mounted. On the 
lower tier, guns were to be mounted at the angles only, and the 
remaining openings and those of the entire second tier were to be 
"permanently and securely " closed. The transferrence of the 
command of Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter produced an alarm 
amonfr *^\e workmen. It was supposed by them that an attack 
upon the fort was imminent. They had previously resolved that 
they would take no part in any conflict, and many claimed their 
discharge. Of the laborers at work when the command occupied 
Fort Sumter, many were discharged within a few days. The report 
had spread that an attempt had been made to force these men 
into the military service of the Government, and to detain them 
against their will at Fort Sumter, and the Governor of the 
State had asked for information upon the subject. No such 



132 



THE GENESIS OF THE CiViL WAR. 



course had been pursued or been contemplated at Fort Sumter, 
although Major Anderson had felt himself compelled to retain 
some of them. The employees of the Engineer Department 
remained or were discharged, as they elected to do. Many that 
left the work added to the excitement in the city, by false represen- 
tations of what was transpiring in Fort Sumter. The force now 
under the command of Major Anderson consisted of ten officers, 
seventy-six enlisted men, forty-five women and children, and 
with a gradually lessening force of laborers, their number 
was reduced to fifty-five, at which point it remained until the work 




LOWER TIER OF GUNS, FORT SUMTER. 

fell. Intercourse with Charleston had not yet been officially 
suspended; and on the 29th of December Captain Seymour visited 
the city. There was no opposition to the landing of his be '^t. He 
described the feeling of the people as intensely excited against 
Major Anderson, and expressed his conviction that we would be 
at once attacked. On the 30th all communication with the city 
was cut off, and no supplies of any description allowed to go to 
the fort, the Governor having declined to change or modify his 
order. Storm and rain had now set in, and for several days the 
fort was enveloped in fog, and under its cover and concealment 
the work was pushed rapidly on. Every effort was made to hasten 



STAR OF THE WEST SAILS. 



^2>Z 



its armament. Three guns were mounted in the angles of the 
work on the 30th, and Major Anderson considered that in a " week 
longer" he would be fully prepared for any attack that might be 
made. 

Meantime, increased activity was visible in the harbor. Small 
steamers with troops and laborers were passing to and fro, and 
men and material landed on Morris Island and preparations made 
for remounting the guns at Fort Moultrie and strengthening its 
parapet towards Fort Sumter. The harbor lights on Sullivan's 
and on Morris islands were put out on the night of the 20th, 
leaving the one upon Sumter and that upon the light-ship in the 
ofifing the only lights in the harbor. 

On the 5th of January the wife of Captain Foster, with her 
sister, left the work to proceed to Washington. There was no 
detention at the island, to which they had crossed in a small boat. 
No communication was allowed with them, and they were told 
that they must decide upon remaining either at Fort Sumter or at 
the island altogether. To the surprise of the garrison, the wife 
of Major Anderson came down to the fort, with the permission of 
the authorities, accompanied by her brother, Mr. Bayard Clinch, 
Mr. Larz Anderson, and Mr. Robert Gourdin, a member of the 
Convention. She was still an invalid, and had left New York 
alone to come to Charleston. The intelligence they brought 
impressed the garrison with the fact that the secession of South 
Carolina was about to be followed by that of other Southern 
States. The fact of the vote in the House of Representatives 
sustaining Major Anderson, was greatly gratifying to him. At 4 
o'clock the party returned to Charleston. 

Upon the return of his brother to Washington, Major 
Anderson was permitted by Governor Pickens to communicate 
with his Government. 

On the morning of the 8th of January, by a boat that brought 
down some men of the Engineer Department, a newspaper was 
received, and in it was the announcement that the Star of the West 
was to sail with reinforcements for Fort Sumter, and would arrive 
on the night of the 8th. The information was not credited, as it 
was believed that any reinforcements for the work would neces- 
sarily be sent in a vessel of war, and in this view Major Anderson 
coincided. 

The greatest activity was meanwhile manifested. The 



134 ^-^^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

defenseless and exposed condition of the work so plainly invited 
an assault, that the earlier efforts of the garrison were directed to 
meet it, should one be made. 

Projecting galleries (Machicouli) were erected upon the parapet, 
to be used in dropping shells and hand-grenades. Stands of grape 
and canister were carried to the parapet, and barrels containing 
fragments of rock in which a loaded shell had been embedded, to 
be used in repelling an assault, were placed at intervals near the 
galleries.* The scarcity of fuel began already to be felt, and it 
became at once necessary to restrict its issue. But one fire was 
allowed to the officers and one to the hospital; none were 
permitted in the quarters. The mess of the officers was moved 
to the kitchen, where they were to be served last. To add to the 
restrictions imposed Upon the garrison, the mail of the ist of 
January brought an order from the Governor withdrawing the 
permission heretofore given for the transmission of the maik, and 
prohibiting all communication between the fort and the city. 
Events now followed each Dther with rapidity. The inspector of 
light-houses. Captain Hunter, of the United States Navy, was 
ordered to leave the State and his vessel seized. 

On the I St of January a large force of men were landed on 
Cumming's Point, the part of Morris Island nearest Fort Sumter, 
and distant only 1,200 yards. The light-ship was towed in on 
the same day, thus leaving the harbor in darkness, except the 
solitary light upon Fort Sumter. 

The light upon Rattlesnake Shoals, which was burning until 
3 o'clock on the morning of the ist, was at the signal of 
rockets extinguished. 

It was reported that the steamer Harriet Lane was coming to 
Charleston to collect the revenue, and that reinforcements were 
also to be sent, and it was mainly upon the strength of this report 
that the lights were extinguished in the harbor by the authorities. 
Major Anderson, to whom the writer carried the report, was greatly 
cheered by it: we were not to be returned to Fort Moultrie, and he 
was sustained in his action There was also great unanimity of 
sentiment among the officers, who, in the activity and energy dis- 
played, were ready to do their whole duty. 

The position was gradually growing stronger. Where no guns 



* A suggestion of Captain Seymour, 



PREPARA TIONS FOR DEFENSE. 



135 



were to be mounted, the embrasures were filled with masonry and 
the shutters secured by strong iron bars, and such of the loop-holes 
for musketry as were not to be used were closely planked up. 
Heavy guns, 32 and 42 pounders, were now in position in the pan 
coupes, at either flank of the gorge. The men worked cheerfully 
and willingly from morning till night. Inside of the fort a feeling 
prevailed that an attack was imminent, while upon the part of the 
State authorities it was anticipated that an attempt would be made 
by the Government to reinforce the work, and immediate prep- 
arations were made by each with reference to their special convic- 
tions. Sentinels were placed on the parapet and over the batteries 




CLOSING AN EMBRASURE WHERE GUN NOT USED. 



below, and every effort was made by Major Anderson to place in 
position a heavy Columbiad. But the want of sufificient or proper 
tackle greatly delayed the work, and it soon became apparent that 
the neglect to transfer the proper material for moving and equip- 
ping the large ordnance would seriously embarrass and delay the 
prompt and efficient arming of the work. On the 2d of January 
assignments of the officers to command the batteries now mounted 
were made. The guns, consisting of three 32 -pounders at the 
southeast angle, were placed under the command of Captain 
Doubleday, while the battery at the southwest angle was assigned 
to Captain T. Seymour. Preparations were now made to hoist the 
heavy guns to the parapet, 



136 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

The excitement in the city seemed to increase, and every one 
that came to the fort brought reports of its existence and intensity. 
The Governor had determined to isolate the fort entirely, and its 
garrison was subjected to many petty annoyances. A brother of 
Major Anderson had come to Charleston to visit him. at the fort. 
He was permitted to go to Fort Sumter accompanied by Mr, 
Robert Gourdin and Mr. Alfred Huger, with the understanding 
that the interview should take place in the presence of these 
gentlemen. This interview produced a depressing effect upon 
Major Anderson, who thought that nothing could now prevent a 
conflict. A fact, too, was made known that caused him great 
anxiety. It was discovered that there were short rations of sugar 
and coffee, and but thirty or forty barrels of flour on hand. The 
effect of the hasty movement from Fort Moultrie was still felt. 
The private property of Captains Foster and Seymour had not 
yet been permitted to come to them, although a promise to that 
effect had been made, both by the Governor and the commanding 
officer of the island. In order to secure it these officers crossed 
directly to Fort Moultrie on the 4th instant, where they were 
arrested by order of General Donovant, and it was proposed to 
send them to the Governor. Representing that this would be an 
act of war, as force must be used, they were finally allowed to 
return without accomplishing the object of their mission, the 
officer in command informing them that his orders were positive.* 
The contents of the Engineer office, with the record-books, 
instruments, and maps containing detailed information of 
the forts and the harbor, were seized in Charleston, while the 
former clerk of the engineer in charge, J. Legare, having been 
appointed one of the construction engineers on Morris Island, 
passed into the service of the State, with much of the valuable 
information acquired in his former position. Great energy was 
now displayed upon all sides. 

On the 6th there was increased activity at Fort Johnson, and 
a mortar battery was commenced in front of the old barracks, 
on the western shore, belonging to the Government, to bear di- 
rectly upon Fort Sumter, 

Traverses were begun on the parapet of Fort Moultrie, and 



* The effects of these officers were not removed until the 23d of March. 
Charleston Mercury, March 25, 1861. 



SINKING OF HULKS IN THE CHANNEL. i 3 7 

experimental firing commenced at that work and from the battery 
on Morris Island. Steamers were plying between the fort and 
the batteries at all hours, conveying men and ammunition. A 
code of signals had been adopted, which was put in constant prac- 
tice. Permanent garrisons were at once provided for the forts 
that had been seized. A detachment of infantry and twenty men 
of an artillery company under Captain King occupied Castle 
Pinckney, and Lieutenants Gibbs and Reynolds, graduates of 
West Point, who had resigned their positions in the army, were 
also assigned to that post to instruct the men. Lieutenant- 
Colonel De Saussure, with a detachment of 170 men from an 
artillery regiment and thirty men from Colonel Pettigrew's rifle 
regiment, occupied Fort Moultrie, with a force of engineers, to 
protect the heavy guns that commanded the Maffit Channel from 
the fire of Fort Sumter. Points for batteries on Sullivan's and 
Morris islands for heavy guns had been selected, and the work 
vigorously pushed forward "to guard the harbor" at those points, 
and "to prevent reinforcement to the garrison in Fort Sumter."* 
Officers (Lieutenant L R. Hamilton, Wade H. Gibbes, H. S. 
Farley, James Hamilton, George N. Reynolds, Jr.), and among 
them cadets of West Point, who had entered the service of the 
State, were sent down to assist in directing and managing the 
guns of large calibre to be placed in these batteries; and they 
were also authorized, in connection with the commanding officer 
of Fort Moultrie, to procure and sink any vessels in a proper place 
in the channel, that might aid and assist in preventing reinforce- 
ments from entering the harbor. f 

But before taking this important step, however, it was deemed 
advisable to consult the Board of Pilots on duty in the harbor, 
and a conference was held between them and the Executive 
Council on the 3d of January. The Board advised that at 
least six vessels or hulks should be sunk in the channels, effect- 
ually to obstruct the entrance of vessels drawing twelve feet or 
over, which was done on the nth of January. 

In the midst of the execution of these orders intelligence was 
received by the Government from the South Carolina Commis- 
sioners at Washington, that the Harriet Lane had sailed, that 

* Pickens's orders to General Schnierle, December 21, 1861. Record of 
Fort Sumter. Columbia, 1862. 

t Pickens to Lieutenant-Colonel De Saussure, December 3 1, i860. 



138 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

her destination was probably Fort Sumter, and that she would be 
off the bar on the night of the ist. The Governor was prompt 
to act. Despatching a competent officer with a force of artiller- 
ists to the commanding officer of Fort Moultrie, he informs him 
that he had anticipated his want as to the management of the large 
guns, and had sent this force to his assistance, as the time was 
short, and that he deemed it of the last importance to sustain 
themselves in the first fight. 

Upon the same day the Governor communicates with Major- 
General Schnierle, the commandant of the forces in the harbor 
and vicinity, directing him to order Captain N. L. Coste or other 
officer in command of the cutter Aiken to proceed to such point 
as may be expedient, to overhaul all vessels, and to arrest all those 
that attempted to bring reinforcements or supplies of any kind for 
the United States troops at Fort Sumter; and he was to " deliver 
such vessel, reinforcements and supplies to Lieutenant-Colonel W. 
G. De Saussure or other officer in command of Sullivan's Island." 
On the following day the chief pilot (Carnagan) was ordered to 
take a vessel and occupy a position off or near the bar of Charles- 
ton immediately, and in case of the approach of any public vessel 
of the United States or any vessel bearing aid or supplies to 
the United States garrison at Fort Sumter, or in any way intend- 
ing to exercise authority or jurisdiction in any manner in the 
waters, he was to warn them off " in the most decided manner," 
and to hand them the following proclamation. 

" Headquarters, ist January, 1861. 
" Be it known, to all concerned, that a state of things exists 
which makes it my duty to warn all public vessels of the United 
States or any vessel bearing aid and supplies to the garrison at 
Fort Sumter, or in any way directed to exercise any authority 
whatever in the waters of South Carolina, that they are hereby 
forbid to do so, and to abstain from entering especially the harbor 
of Charleston. 

"Given under my hand and the seal of the State, the 
' — *—— N day and year aforesaid: 
Seal of ) (Signed) " F. W. Pickens, 
State. \ Gov. and Co7Twir in CJif in and over 
r-> — the State of South Carolina.'" 

The destination of the Harriet Lane was not Fort Sumter, nor 
the harbor of Charleston; but the conviction that an expedition of 
some kind, either hostile or pacific, was on foot, and that its object 
was to change or modify the existing condition of things in the 



PREVENTING THE RELIEF OF SUMTER. 



139 



harbor of Charleston, remained, and the greatest anxiety was 
manifested by the Governor of the State and his subordinates, and 
the greatest vigor shown in pushing forward to completion the 
works undertaken to prevent the success of such expedition. 

Men and material were moved daily from point to point in the 
harbor without any attempt at concealment. On the 3d of January 
the Governor of the State again addressed the commandant of 
Fort Moultrie. He informed him that " recent news seemed to 
indicate" that a vessel of war of the United States would enter 
the harbor ; that she might not have reinforcements on board, and 
her object might be pacific, and that she might be intended to 
collect the revenue only. If this could be ascertained, "the 
immediate necessity of firing upon her " might not be so great, 
but if she had reinforcements, " there could be no doubt that 
there must be all proper exertions made to prevent the reinforce- 
ments — let the consequences be what they may." 

General Donovant was directed to put himself in communi- 
cation with the pilot captain on watch at the bar, and to ascertain 
the facts in regard to the vessel. An expedition, however, had 
meantime been prepared, and had sailed from New York on the 
night of the 5th inst. Information had been communicated by 
telegram to Governor Pickens, who considered that every precau- 
tion had been taken, and who awaited the result. To complete, 
however, his arrangements, and to leave no step untaken^ he finally 
transmitted orders to Colonel John Cunningham, commanding the 
arsenal in Charleston, to take 300 picked riflemen " fully armed 
with the best rifles and at least 100 best artillery sabres," to proceed 
to the steamship Marion, and put his men under the hatches 
until he passed Fort Sumter. He was to proceed to the bar, 
and if possible prevent the Star of the West or any other vessel 
from passing reinforcements to Fort Sumter, and in consultation 
with Captain Hamilton, of the South Carolina Navy, they were 
to settle the proper time for boarding. Captain Hamilton received 
similar instructions, and was required to exercise the greatest 
precaution, and "the most decided and prompt action " that might 
be necessary to prevent supplies to Fort Sumter. A constant 
exchange of signals was made by day and night between the city, 
the temporary batteries and the vessels on duty in the harbor, and 
every means at the disposal of the State was resorted to in order 
to prevent relief from reaching the garrison of Fort Sumter. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Washington — Effect of Anderson's movement — False report of reinforcement — 
Telegram of Governjr — Reply of Secretary of War — Commissioners ap- 
pointed by Convention — Arrive in Washington— President appoints day to 
receive them— Arrangement made by agent of South Carolina — News of 
Anderson's movement changes the relations — Statement in detail of agent 
of the State — President urged to restore the status - He declines — Ander- 
son's movement without his orders — Secretary of War telegraphs to Ander- 
son — Anderson's reply confirming report— President's action— Cabinet 
convened — Discussion — Copy of order by Major Buellsent for — South Car- 
olina Commissioners — Interview with the President — They transmit their 
letter of authority from the Convention — Demand explanation of Ander- 
son's movement— President receives Commissioners — Promises reply — Pres- 
ident submits draft of letter to his Cabinet, who are divided in opinion — 
Northern members threaten resignation — No conclusion reached— Secre- 
tary of War Floyd tenders his resignation — Correspondence with the 
President— Secretary of State, Judge Black, determines to resign if letter is 
sent — President informed — Interview with Judge Black — Question of per- 
sonal honor urged by the President -Commits draft of letter to Judge 
Black, who comments upon it — President's letter to Commissioners — Their 
action — Mr. Trescot, the agent of the State, interviews the President — Sub- 
sequently sees Mr. Hunter, of Virginia -Offers through him that the State 
would withdraw from the forts if the President would withdraw Anderson 
from Sumter — President declines — Attorney-General Stanton's opinion — 
President yields, and sides with the Union sentiment. 

The news of Anderson's movement had been promptly carried 
to Washington, and, as might have been anticipated, produced 
an effect immediate and startling. Unexpected as it was to the 
President or his Cabinet, it forced the issue upon them so strongly 
as to define their individual positions finally, and with great 
distinctness. 

Meanwhile the difificulties continued to increase. The Assist- 
ant Secretary of State, having resigned his position, had consented, 
upon the urgent request of the Governor, to become the agent of 
the State, and he was soon called upon to act in that capacity. 
On the 23d a telegram from Governor Pickens was received by 
him to the effect that Governor Pickens had been informed that 
thirteen men had arrived in Charleston and reported that they 

140 



FALSE REPORT OF REINFORCEMENT. 



141 



were sent to Fort Moultrie, and were a part of a body of 150 who 
were to follow; and he desired to know immediately if it was 
intended to reinforce the forts or to transfer any force from Fort 
Moultrie to Fort Sumter. He asked for a " clear answer 
immediately ; " and he says, " Until the Commissioners shall 
negotiate at Washington, there can be no change here." The 
agent at once called upon Governor Floyd, " The Governor was 
evidently becoming impatient under the embarrassments of his 
position, for it was difficult to be accountable to the President on 
the one hand and to the State of South Carolina on the other. 
He had done everything that a man in his situation could do to 
prove his good faith, and he felt, very naturally, that the difficul- 
ties of his position ought to be appreciated, and that explanations 
and pledges, perhaps inconsistent with his duties, should not be 
pressed except under the very gravest necessity, It was, more- 
over, a matter of great moment that in this juncture Governor 
Floyd should retain his place in the Cabinet as long as possible, 
and every step he took or did not take was watched and misrepre- 
sented, for no man at the South was more cordially detested by 
the Black Republican party. Governor Floyd told me to reply 
to the Governor that there was not the slightest foundation for any 
alarm, that he knew nothing of any such men, and any statement 
to such an effect was a sheer fabrication, made, he must suppose, 
for purposes ot mischief. As for the removal of troops to 
Sumter, he could not see any likelihood of it ; that he did not 
think it necessary to send special orders to that end to Major 
Anderson, for he could not consider it at all probable; and that, 
in fact, he thought any such contingency provided against by 
orders already sent, to which he did not feel at liberty to refer 
more specially; that the Commissioners must soon be in Wash- 
ington, and that he could see no rational ground for anticipating 
premature difficulty. I thought this as far, really, as he could go, 
and that to press upon him or the President more positive action 
was to risk the advantage that continued delay on the part of the 
Government was giving to the State. I therefore telegraphed the 
Governor the contradiction he authorized, and waited with anxiety 
the arrival of the Commissioners." 

The expressions of the Secretary of War were transmitted to 
Governor Pickens, and everything now awaited the anticipated 
arrival of the Commissioners from South Carolina. On the 20th 



142 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



the Convention had passed the Ordinance of Secession, and on the 
2 2d of December the Governor of the State transmitted the 
following telegram to his agent in Washington : 

" Sir: The Hon. R. W. Barnwell, the Hon. J. H. Adams 
and the Hon. James L. Orr have been appointed Commissioners 
by the Convention to proceed immediately to Washington to 
present the Ordinance of Secession to the President, and to nego- 
tiate in reference to the evacuation of the forts and other matters 
growing out of the Act of Secession. They will probably arrive 
on Tuesday next. Please inform the President of this. Answer 
this. (Signed) " F. W. Pickens. 

" Hon. W. H. Trescot." 

The information was immediately carried to the President by 
Mr. Trescot. The President inquired as to the character of the 
appointments, expressed his readiness to receive them, and his 
determination to refer them to Congress. 

On Wednesday, the 26th of December, the Commissioners 
arrived in Washington, and their arrival was communicated at 
once to the President by the agent of the State. Judge Black, 
who had now entered upon his duties as Secretary of State, was 
present, and the subject was spoken of informally, and the Presi- 
dent appointed i o'clock on the following day, the 27th of 
December, as the hour when it would be agreeable to him to 
receive the Commissioners. 

He was told by the agent of the State that the Commissioners 
proposed to present their credentials and have an informal con- 
versation with him, but that if it was his intention to submit the 
question of their reception to Congress, they wished to submit a 
written communication to accompany his message. If, however, 
the President should agree in thinking it the better course, the 
Commissioners would not prepare the paper until after the inter- 
view with him, when they would better understand one another, 
but in that case it was to be considered that the communication 
was submitted at the interview. To this the President consented, 
and matters were approaching some definite solution, when 
Anderson made his sudden and unexpected movement from Fort 
Moultrie to Fort Sumter. The news arrived in Washington, at 
once wholly changing the relations of the parties and altering the 
whole character of the negotiation. 

" The next morning early, I was at the residence of the Commis- 



INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT. 



143 



sioners, and while talking over the condition of affairs, Colonel 
Wigfall, one of the Senators from Texas, came in to inform us 
that the telegraph had just brought the news that Major Anderson 
had abandoned Fort Moultrie, spiked his guns, burned his gun- 
carriages, cut down the flag-staff and removed his command to 
Fort Sumter. We all expressed our disbelief of the intelligence, 
and after a good deal of discussion as to its probability I said, 
* Well, at any rate, Colonel, true or not, I will pledge my life, if it 
has been done, it has been without orders from Washington.' Just 
as I made the remark Governor Floyd was announced. After the 
usual courtesies of meeting I said, ' Governor, Colonel Wigfall 
has just brought us this news — repeating it — and as you were 
coming up- stairs I said I would pledge my life it was without 
orders.' 'You can do more,' he said, smiling, 'You can pledge 
your life, Mr. Trescot, that it is not so. It is impossible. It 
would be not only without orders, but in the face of orders. To 
be very frank, Anderson was instructed in case he had to abandon 
his position to dismantle Fort Sumter, not Fort Moultrie.' I asked 
him, if his carriage was at the door, to let me take it and go home, 
as there might be telegrams there. I went, and in a few minutes 
returned with two telegrams for Colonel Barnwell, which he read 
and handed to Governor Floyd, saying, ' I am afraid, Governor, 
it is too true.' Floyd read them, asked the Commissioners if the 
authority was sufficient, and made no comment, but rose, saying, ' I 
must go to the Department at once.' 

"As soon as he had left I drove to the Capitol, communicated 
the intelligence to Senator Davis, of Mississippi, and Senator Hun- 
ter, of Virginia, and asked them to accompany me to the President. 
We drove to the White House, sent in our names, and were asked 
into the President's room, where he joined us in a few moments. 
When we came in he was evidently nervous, and immediately 
commenced the conversation T^y making some remark to Mr. 
Hunter concerning the removal of the consul at Liverpool, to 
which Mr. Hunter made a general reply. Colonel Davis then said, 
' Mr. President, we have called upon an infinitely graver matter 
than any consulate.' 'What is it?' said the President. 'Have 
you received any intelligence from Charleston in the last few 
hours ? asked Colonel Davis. ' None,' said the President. 
' Then, ' said Colonel Davis, ' I have a great calamity to 
announce to you.' He then stated the facts, and added, ' And 



144 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



now, Mr. President, you are surrounded with blood and dishonor 
on all sides." The President was standing by the mantel-piece, 
crushing up a cigar in the palm of one hand — a habit I have seen 
him practice often. He sat down as Colonel Davis finished, and 
exclaimed, * My God, are calamities (or m^isfortunes, I forget 
which) never to come singly ! I call God to witness, you gentlemen, 
better than anybody, knoiv that this is not only without but against 
my orders. It is against my policy.' He then expressed his 
doubt of the truth of the telegram, thought it strange that nothing 
had been heard at the War Department, said he had not seen 
Governor Floyd, and finally sent a messenger for him. When 
Governor Floyd came, he said no news had come to the Depart- 
ment, that the heads of the Bureaus there thought it unlikely, but 
that he had telegraphed Major Anderson to this effect himself. 
' There is a report here that you have abandoned Fort Moultrie, 
spiked your guns, burned your carriages and gone to Fort Sumter. 
It is not believed, as you had no orders to justify it. Say at once 
what could have given rise to such a story.' 

"The President was urged to take immediate action; he was 
told the probability was that the remaining forts and the arsenal 
would be seized and garrisoned by South Carolina, and that Fort 
Sumter would be attacked; that if he would only say that he 
would replace matters as he had pledged himself that they should 
remain, there was yet time to remedy the mischief. The discus- 
sion was long and earnest. At first he seemed disposed to 
declare that he would restore the status, then hesitated, said he 
must call his Cabinet together; he could not condemn Major 
Anderson unheard. He was told that nobody asked that; only 
say that if the move had been made without a previous attack 
on Anderson he would restore the status. Assure us of that 
determination, and then take what time was necessary for con- 
sultation and information. That resolution telegraphed would 
restore confidence and enable the Commissioners to continue 
their negotiation. This he declined doing, and after adjourning 
his appointment to receive the Commissioners until the next day 
we left. On our way out we met General Lane, Senators Bigler, 
Mallory, Yulie, and some others on their way to make the same 
remonstrance, for the news was over the city. Later in the day I 
saw him again, to show him some telegrams fuller in details. 
Senator Slidell was with him, but all that he did was to authorize 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESIDENT. 14 e 

me to telegraph that Anderson's movement was not only without 
but against his orders." 

The following is the actual text of the telegrams that passed: 

" War Department, 
"Adjutant-General's Office, 

,,T . ir L "December 27, i860. 

Intelligence has reached here this morning that you have 
abandoned Fort Moultrie, spiked your guns, burned the carriages 
and gone to Fort Sumter. 

" It is not believed, because there is no order for any such 
movement. Explain the meaning of this report. 

(Signed) '« J. B. Floyd, 

" Secretary of War'' 
The reply of Major Anderson was immediate. He said: 

"Charleston, December 27, i860. 
"The telegram is correct. I abandoned Fort Moultrie because 
I was certam that, if attacked, my men must have been sacrificed 
and the command of the harbor lost. I spiked the guns and 
destroyed the carriages to keep the guns from being used against 
us. If attacked, the garrison would never have surrendered with- 
out a fight. 

(Signed) "Robert Anderson, 

,, ,, ^ ^ ^ " Major First Artillery. 

Hon. J. B. Floyd, Secretary of War.'' 

What had just been made known had occasioned the President 
astonishment and regret. He had belived that Major Anderson 
was safe in his position, and that the coming of the Commissioners 
would determine the solution of the difficulty, by whatever action 
Congress should see fit to take. The movement of Major Ander- 
son would, he feared, so excite the sympathy of the cotton and bor- 
der States, that South Carolina would no longer be alone in her act 
of secession; that the measures of compromise yet pending before 
the Committee of Thirteen of the Senate would be suspended 
or defeated, and that in his hope to confine secession to the State 
of South Carolina alone he would be disappointed. But before he 
would take any positive action, he determined to await "official 
information " from Major Anderson himself. He could not, under 
his instructions, have made such a movement as was attributed to 
him unless he had the " tangible evidence" of an impending attack 
upon him, and of this there was as yet no proof. 

The Cabinet was called together immediately. As the mem- 



146 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

bers assembled, Major Buell, who had carried the orders to Major 
Anderson, and who had been sent for by the Secretary of War, now 
joined him in the hall of the President's mansion. The Secretary 
at once accosted him. " This is a very unfortunate move of Major 
Anderson," said he ; " it has made war inevitable." "I do not 
think so, sir," replied Major Buell; "on the contrary, I think that 
it will tend to avert war, if war can be averted." " But," said the 
Secretary, " it has compromised the President. " But little 
else was said, and Major Buell was left uncertain as to the object 
of his summons. As the members proceeded to the room the 
criticisms upon Anderson's movement were severe and general. 

All seemed to think that he had acted without orders. Secre- 
tary Floyd was loudly condemnatory of Anderson's action. He 
had disobeyed his instructions; there was no reason for his move- 
ment, and he had broken a definitely understood agreement with- 
out any authority for it. The existence of the orders of the nth 
of December, transmitted to Major Anderson by Major Buell, 
seemed to be ignored or forgotten, when the attention of the Cabi- 
net was promptly called to them by the Secretary of State, Judge 
Black. He claimed, as he clearly stated, that Anderson had acted 
wholly within the purview of his instructions, and in accordance 
with his orders ; referring pointedly to the orders sent to him on 
the nth of December. He suggested that the order should be 
sent for to the War Department, when it was produced and again 
read in the presence of the President and Cabinet. The paper 
itself contained the endorsement of the Secretary of War, affirm- 
ing its correctness; and so completely had it been forgotten by the 
President, who possibly had regarded it as a matter of routine 
only, that in his reply to the letter of the Commissioners on the 
31st of December he stated that the order had been issued to Major 
Anderson on the nth of December, but that it had not been 
brought to his notice until the 21st of that month. Although this 
important order involved to a greater degree than any other 
consideration the question of peace or war to the country, the 
President of the United States was for ten days wholly ignorant of 
its existence. 

On the 20th of December the Commissioners had their first and 
only interview with the President. He received them courteously 
and as private gentlemen alone. He listened to their statement, 
but informed them that it was to Congress they must look, at the 



LETTER OF COMMISSIONERS. 147 

same time expressing his willingness to lay before Congress any 
" propositions " they might make to him. They were excited 
during the interview, the action of Major Anderson having added 
greatly to the feeling already existing. They had come to Wash- 
ington to find the Cabinet divided upon the question most import- 
ant to themselves. 

A letter had been prepared setting forth the authority for their 
mission, their purposes and views, but in accordance with a 
previous understanding, already stated, this letter was not pre- 
sented at the interview with the President, but transmittted to 
him on the morning of the following day, the 29th. In this letter 
they transmitted to him a copy of the full powers from the Con- 
vention of the people of South Carolina, under which they were: 
" Authorized and empowered to treat with the Government of the 
United States for the delivery of the forts, magazines, light- 
houses, and other real estate, with their appurtenances, within the 
limits of South Carolina, and also for an apportionment of the 
public debt, and for a division of all other property held by the 
Government of the United States as agent of the confederated 
States, of which South Carolina was recently a member." They 
were also to negotiate in reference to all proper measures and 
arrangements required by the existing relations of the parties, and 
for the " continuance of peace and amity." In the performance 
of their trust, they presented an official copy of the Ordinance of 
Secession, by which, as their letter stated, the State of South 
Carolma had resumed the powers delegated by her to the General 
Government, and had declared her "perfect sovereignty and 
independence." 

They would have been ready to enter upon the negotiation 
of all questions thus raised, with the desire of an amicable 
adjustment, but the events of the last twenty-four hours rendered 
such assurance impossible. An officer of the United States, act- 
ing not only without but against the orders of the President, had 
dismantled one fort and occupied another, which could at any 
time during the last sixty days have been taken by the State "but 
which, upon pledges given in a manner that they could not doubt," 
determined to trust to the " honor of the President, rather than its 
own power." 

Until an explanation should be made which should relieve 
them from all doubt as to the spirit in which the negotiations 



148 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

should be conducted, they would suspend all discussion as to an 
amicable adjustment, and they closed their communication by urg- 
ing upon the President the immediate withdrawal of the troops 
from the harbor of Charleston, " as they were a standing menace 
which rendered negotiations impossible and threatened a bloody 
issue." 

This interview between the President and the Commissioners 
from South Carolina lasted nearly two hours, and is important, as 
showing the wavering position of the President at that time, as 
well as the determined course of the State. " The Honorable 
R. W. Barnwell acted as the chairman of the Commission. He 
brought to the attention of the President the arrangement which 
had been made early in December, between him and the South 
Carolina delegation ; that it had been observed in good faith by 
the people of South Carolina, who could at any time, after the 
arrangement was made, up to the night when Major Anderson 
removed to Sumter, have occupied Fort Sumter and captured 
Moultrie with all its command ; that the removal of Anderson 
violated that agreement on the part of the Government of the 
United States, and that the faith of the President and the Govern- 
ment had been thereby forfeited. The President made various 
excuses why he should be allowed time to decide the question 
whether Anderson should be ordered back to Moultrie and the 
former status restored. Mr. Barnwell pressed him with great zeal 
and earnestness to issue the order at once. Mr. Buchanan still 
hesitating, Mr. Barnwell said to him, at least three times during 
the interview :* ** But, Mr. President, your personal honor is 
involved in this matter ; the faith you pledged has been violated; 
and your personal honor requires you to issue the order." Mr. 
Barnwell pressed him so hard upon this point that the President 
said : " You must give me time to consider — this is a grave ques- 
tion." Mr. Barnwell replied to him for the third time : " But, 
Mr. President, your personal honor is involved in this arrange- 
ment." Whereupon Mr. Buchanan, with great earnestness, said : 
" Mr. Barnwell, you are pressing me too importunately ; you don't 
give me time to consider ; you don't give me time to say my 
prayers. I always say my prayers when required to act upon any 



* Letter of the Hon. James L. Orr to writer, September 21, 1871. Mr. Orr 
was one of the Commissioners, and was present at the interview. 



ITS EFFECT UPON THE CABINET. 



149 



great State affair." The interview terminated without eliciting an 
order from the President to restore the status of the troops in 
Charleston Harbor. 

The President received the letter of the Commissioners cour- 
teously, and promised a reply, which he wrote, and the draft of 
which he presented to his Cabinet the same day. He had early 
called his advisers together on the 27th, after the intelligence of 
Anderson's movement had reached Washington, and their sessions 
were repeated by day and night, but they were so divided in sen- 
timent, that they were upon the point of separation themselves. 
The Cabinet at this period consisted of Judge Black, Secretary of 
State ; Phil. F. Thomas, Secretary of the Treasury ; Jacob 
Thompson, Secretary of the Interior ; Joseph Holt, Postmaster- 
General ; John B. Floyd, Secretary of War ; Toucey, Secretary 
of the Navy; and Edwin M. Stanton, Attorney-General, But the 
differences of opinion were as conspicuous in the new as in the old 
Cabinet, and when the President, on the evening of the 29th of 
December, submitted to his advisers the paper he had prepared in 
reply to the Commissioners from South Carolina, but one member, 
Mr. Toucey, wholly approved it. Of the six remaining mem- 
bers, three. Judge Black, Mr. Holt and Mr. Stanton, suggested 
changes in the paper, holding that, from its unguarded language, 
it was open to the criticism of seeming to make concessions, which 
it could not be the purpose of the President or his Cabinet to 
make. The President made no reply, but, as was his custom, took 
the suggestions under consideration. The three remaining mem- 
bers, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Floyd, opposed it 
because it yielded too little to the demands of the Commission- 
ers. Such consideration as was then given to the paper having 
led to no special determination before the adjournment of the 
Cabinet, the Secretary of War, Mr, Floyd, produced a paper that 
he had prepared, and, in a " discourteous and excited tone," read 
in the presence of the President and his Cabinet a recommenda- 
tion that the troops in Charleston Harbor should be withdrawn. 

The tenor of this paper caused the President great astonishment. 
The Secretary followed it by his resignation on the following 
morning, the 30th, offering at the same time to continue in office 
until the appointment of his successor. His resignation, which had 
been called for by the President as long before as the 23d of 
December, was at once accepted without reference to the offer 



15^ 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



made, and Postmaster-General Holt was appointed Secretary of 
War, and entered at once upon the duties of his office. 

The change was at once reported to Charleston by Senator 
Wigfall, of Texas, who telegraphed on the 2d of January to the 
Hon. M. L. Bonham, Charleston, South Carolina: " Holt suc- 
ceeds Floyd. It means war. Cut off supplies from Anderson and 
take Sumter as soon as possible."* 

The correspondence with the President was as follows : 

" War Department, 

"December 29, i860. 
*■'■ Sir: On the morning of the 27th inst. I read the following 
paper to you in the presence of the Cabinet, in the Council Cham- 
ber of the Executive Mansion. 

"'Sir: It is evident now, from the action of the commander 
of Fort Moultrie, that the solemn pledges of the Government have 
been violated by Major Anderson. 

" ' In my judgment but one remedy is now left us, by which to 
vindicate our honor and prevent civil war. It is in vain now to 
hope for confidence on the part of the people of South Carolina in 
any further pledges as to the action of the military. One remedy 
only is left, and it is to withdraw the garrison from the harbor of 
Charleston altogether. I hope that the President will allow me to 
make that order at once. This order, in my judgment, can alone 
prevent bloodshed and civil war. 

(Signed) " ' John B. Floyd, 

" ' Secretary of War. 
" ' To the President.' 

" I then considered the honor of the administration pledged to 
maintain the troops in the position they occupied, for such had 
been the assurance given to gentlemen of South Carolina who 
had the right to speak for her. South Carolina, on the other hand, 
gave reciprocal pledges that no force should be brought by them 
against the troops or against the property of the United States. 
The sole object of both parties to these reciprocal pledges was to 
prevent a collision and the effusion of blood, in the hope that some 
means might be found for a peaceful accommodation of existing 
troubles, the two Houses of Congress having both raised Commit- 
tees looking to that object. Thus affairs stood until Major Ander- 
son's step — unfortunately taken while Congress was striving, while 
Commissioners were on their way to this Capital on a peaceful 
commission looking to the avoidance of bloodshed — has compli- 
cated matters in the existing manner. Our refusal or even our 
delay to place affairs back as they stood under our agreement, 
invites a collision and must inevitably inaugurate civil war. I can- 

• War of the Rebellion, page 252. Telegram. 



ACTION OF SECRETARY OF STATE. 



151 



not consent to be the agent of such a calamity. I deeply regret 
to feel myself under the necessity of tendering to you my resigna- 
tion as Secretary of War, because I can no longer hold the office 
under my convictions of patriotism, nor with honor, subjected, as 
I am, to a violation of solemn pledges and plighted faith. 
" With the highest personal regard, 

" I am, most truly yours, 

(Signed) "John B. Floyd. 
"To His Excellency the President of the United States." 

To this the President made the following reply: 

"Washington, December 31, i860. 
^^ My Dear Sir: I have received and accepted your resigna- 
tion of the office of Secretary of War, and not wishing to impose 
upon you the task of performing its mere routine duties, which 
you have so kindly offered to do, I have authorized Postmaster- 
General Holt to administer the affairs of the Department until 
your successor shall be appointed. 

" Yours very respectfully, 
(Signed) "James Buchanan, 
"To Hon. John B. Floyd." 

The differences of opinion in the Cabinet, on the paper sub- 
mitted by the President as his reply to the South Carolina Com- 
missioners, were so irreconcilable as to threaten its dissolution. 

The President seemed to be firm in the position he had taken, 
and It was thought that his mind could not be changed. But the 
member of the Cabinet that seemed more impressed by the 
erroneous view contained in the reply of the President was the 
Secretary of State, Judge Black. When the Cabinet had ad- 
journed their session he sought the Postmaster-General, Holt, 
with whom he conferred, and who fully agreed with him as to the 
necessity of making important changes in the President's letter 
before its transmittal to the Commissioners. 

He then sought aq interview with Mr. Toucey, the Secretary 
of the Navy, and informed him of his intention, in case the letter 
of the President was insisted upon, to submit his resignation. He 
had known nothing of the alleged understanding between the 
President and the South Carolina delegation until now, and he 
had no reason to believe that the views of the President would be 
modified or changed, and he shrank from the interview which he 
knew was now inevitable. The Secretary of the Navy at once com- 
municated the fact to the President, who sent immediately for his 
Secretary of State, when a long and earnest conference took place. 



152 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

"Do you, too, talk of leaving me?" said the President, with 
feeling, as he stated the information that had just been communi- 
cated to him by the Secretary of the Navy. He referred to their as- 
sociation and mutual respect, that had so long existed, while he at 
the same time assured the Secretary that his intention was to sub- 
mit the paper to his judgment before transmitting it to the Commis- 
sioners. The Secretary of State replied that he was not aware of 
the course the President intended to pursue; that he could not 
know it; and that he felt that it would be impossible for him, 
holding the views that he did, to remain in the Cabinet and to 
appear to endorse the positions stated in the reply which the Presi- 
dent contemplated making to the South Carolina Commissioners. 

The President then proposed to amend, at the suggestion of 
his Secretary, the paper in question. This was declined by Judge 
Black, as was also the proposal that he should there and then 
make, himself, the proposed modifications. " If what I propose," 
said he, " is adopted, the whole paper must be recast." The posi- 
tion of the President involved, was the subject of an earnest dis- 
cussion. 

In regard to any " understanding," or ''agreement," the Presi- 
dent had acknowledged it, and claimed that he was affected by it 
personally. " You do not seem to appreciate. Judge Black," said 
he, " that my personal honor as a gentleman is involved." " Such 
an understanding," said Judge Black, " is impossible. You could 
not make it, or any agreement with any one that would tie your 
hands in the execution of the laws, and if you did make it, you 
must retire from it," Finally, the President yielded his objections, 
and committed the paper which he had submitted to his Cabinet 
into the hands of his Secretary of State.* 



* During the reign of George IV. it became desirable ihat Mr. Canning 
should enter the Cabinet. The King was opposed to him on account of " the 
sympathy and friendship which he had always shown for the Queen." The 
Duke of Wellington essayed to make the conversion, but His Majesty told him 
that he had pledged his honor, as a gentleman, never to receive Mr. Canning 
again as one of his ministers. " You hear, Arthur, on my honor, as a gentle- 
man." The Duke, as Sir H. Bulwer relates, told the King that he was not a 
gentleman; and upon the King starting back in surprise, the Duke added that 
he was "not a gentleman, but the Sovereign of England, with duties to his 
people, and that those duties rendered it imperative to call in the services of 
Mr. Canning." The King drew a long breath and said, " Well, if I must I 
must." — " The Croker Papers." Vol. I, p. 222. 



JUDGE BLACK A.VEXDS PRESIDEX 



rs LETTER. 



'53 



Judge Black immediately went to the Office of the Attornev- 
General, Stanton, and there proceeded to make the following 
amendments to the letter of the President. As fast as the sheett 
were wr^ten they were handed to the Attorney-General who 

.rPrelfaTnt!" "'^ """ '"'' '"^ °"«"""' ^^'"« -"' "^^''^ » 
The amendments of Judge Black were as follows ■ 
"Memorandum for the President on the subject of the paper 

drawn^^p by h.m m reply to the Commissioners of South 

acki^^tdle^lht-^^'o?^^^^^^^^^ 

of the Union than any' other fore gn pote "^'f^'^l^^fh"'^"^' 
then she has acquired all the rijrhts nmT-L ? *'^ ''"^'' 

of a separate government by ke^cTSirnceTr*''*" 

.hat e^^nTrsStrcS-'c^S: t7|oit^S'"tK^'-1 

which imolv that Sm ?h r- ? ^ ^^ ^'^^'>' '^'^^^ ^nd sentence 

the Present to fr.P ^'''°^'"'' ^' '" ^" '-^"'^ude which enables 

CommLlner^^^^ /^-' - fo receive her 

ought to be stricken on. , diplomatic members or agents, 

whfch wo^r^rsteTt t^rcipL^SThe' ^Sage"°" ^"^^"'"'^'^ 
transcribed: irtttctZefhere'a "^ words ot%he message be 
doned by carrying'^n ^^"^j^'jfiVn™""""'' "' P""'^^"^ ^l^- 

wheth:7thenr?winta "of n"o!'^'"'' "' "° "^«°''^''™ "'* *em, 

to nefotiate wfth'lhe sffte oft^uth r '",' '° 'l'™^'^ ^ "'"""Sness 
of a military pos.'whfch'be n'^" 5 fhTunTtec Snt^ ' ^r'to""" 

ment, a^:!"/'™" t^^^nt t° e^^fv^n^l;' "^I'eTf .^f/^ «-- 

3ervro"ft^:?ce'di:;S°oVrf"' "■'■^*'^ '"- for^'t^-'t' 
seceaing btate or a foreign nation. But Fort Sumter 



I 54 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

is impregnable, and cannot be taken if defended as it should be. 
It is a thing of the last importance that it should be maintained, 
if all the power of this nation can do it ; for the command of the 
harbor and the President's ability to execute the Revenue laws 
may depend on it. 

"4th. The words, 'coercing a State by force of arms to remain 
in the Confederacy' — a power which I do not believe the Constitu- 
tion has conferred upon Congress — ought certainly not to be 
retained. They are too vague, and might have the effect (which 
I am sure the President does not intend) to mislead the Commis- 
sioners concerning his sentiments. 

" The power to defend the public property, to resist an assail- 
ing force which unlawfully attempts to drive out the troops of the 
United States from one of their fortifications, and to use the mili- 
tary and naval forces for the purpose of aiding the proper officers 
of the United States in the execution of the laws — this, as far as 
it goes, is coercion, and may very well be called ' coercing a State 
by force of arms to remain in the Union. The President has 
always asserted his right of coercion to that extent. He merely 
denies the right of Congress to make offensive war upon a State of 
the Union, as such might be made upon a foreign Government. 

"5th. The implied assent of the President to the accusation 
which the Commissioners make, of a compact with South Carolina 
by which he was bound not to take whatever measures he saw fit 
for the defense of the forts, ought to be stricken out and a flat 
denial of any such bargain or pledge or agreement asserted. The 
paper signed by the late Members of Congress from South Caro- 
lina does not bear any such construction, and this, as I under- 
stand, is the only transaction between the South Carolinians and 
him which bears upon the subject, either directly or indirectly. 
I think it deeply concerns the President's reputation that he 
should contradict this statement, since, if it be undenied, it puts 
him in the attitude of an executive officer who voluntarily disarms 
himself of the power to perform his duty, and ties up his hands 
so that he cannot, without breaking his word, ' preserve, protect 
and defend the Constitution,' see the laws faithfully executed. 
The fact that he pledged himself in any such way cannot be true. 
The Commissioners, no doubt, have been so mformed. But 
there must be some mistake about it. It arose, doubtless, out of 
the President's anxious and laudable desire to avoid civil war, 
and his often expressed determination not even to furnish an 
excuse for an outbreak at Charleston by reinforcing Major 
Anderson, unless it was absolutely necessary. 

"6th. The remotest expression of a doubt about Major Ander- 
son's perfect propriety of behavior should be carfully avoided. 
He is not only a gallant and meritorious officer, who is entitled 
to a fair hearing before he is condemned: he has saved the 



THEIR EFFECT UPON THE PRESIDEX7. 



155 



country, I solemnly believe, when its day was darkest and its 
peril most extreme.'* 

" He has done everything that mortal man could do to repair 
the fatal error which the administration have committed in not 
sending down troops enough to hold all the forts. He has kept 
the strongest one. He still commands the harbor. We may still 
execute the laws, if we try. Besides, there is nothing in the 
orders which were sent him by the War Department which is in 
the slightest degree contravened by his act of throwing his com- 
mand into Fort Sumter. Even if those orders, sent without your 
knowledge, did forbid him to leave a place where his men might 
have perished, and shelter them under a stronger position, we 
ought all of us to rejoice that he broke such orders. 

" 7th. The idea that a wrong was committed against South 
Carolina by moving from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter ought to 
be repelled as firmly as may be consistent with a proper respect 
for the high character of the gentlemen who compose the South 
Carolina Commission. It is a strange assumption of right on the 
part of that State to say that the United States troops must 
remain in the weakest position they can find in the harbor. It is 
not a menace of South Carolina or of Charleston, or any menace 
at all : it is simply self-defense. If South Carolina does not attack 
Major Anderson, no human being will be injured, for there cer- 
tainly can be no reason to believe that he will commence hostilities. 
The apparent objection to his being in Fort Sumter is, that he will 
be less likely to fall an easy prey to his assailants. 

" These are the points on which I would advise that the paper 
be amended. I am aware that they are too radical to permit 
much hope of their adoption. If they are adopted, the whole paper 
will need to be recast. 

" But there is one thing not to be overlooked in this terrible crisis. 
I entreat the President to order the Brooklyn and the Maccdoman 
to Charleston without the least delay, and in the meantime send a 
trusty messenger to Major Anderson to let him know that his 
Government will not desert him. The reinforcements of troops 
from New York or Old Point Comfort should follow immedi- 
ately. 

" If this be done at once, all may yet be, not well, but com- 
paratively safe. If not, I can see nothing before us but disaster, 
and ruin to thecountry."f 

Unexpectedly, the paper presented by his Secretary produced 



* On this subject Judge Black wholly changed his opinion, 
t From original paper, in Mr. Stanton's handwriting. 



156 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

an effect upon the President that could not have been anticipated. 
He now entirely changed his ground upon many points on which he 
had heretofore been determined. He had ever felt the weight of 
the great responsibility resting upon him, and he believed that in 
avoiding a collision in the harbor of Charleston war could be 
avoided, the border States tranquilized and a peaceful arrange- 
ment of the difficulties made possible. Upon one point he was 
inflexible, and from it he never wavered, and that was his determi- 
nation never, under any pressure of circumstances, to surrender the 
forts at Charleston, and to this resolve he adhered to the last. 
He had thought of returning Anderson to his former position at 
Fort Moultrie, and thus restoring the status in the harbor, as far 
as he was concerned, and the greatest pressure, both within and 
without the Cabinet, had been brought to bear upon him ; and had 
it not been for the prompt course of his Secretary of State, as well 
as the fact that the State had seized the vacant forts in the harbor, 
there is every probability that such would have been his course. 
But he yielded to the arguments so forcibly placed before him, 
and prepared and transmitted to the Commissioners, on the 3d of 
December, a reply to their communication so clear in its statement 
and so positive in its terms as to leave no longer any illusion as 
to either his conclusions or his purpose. 

He referred the Commissioners to his message of the 3d of 
December, in which he had stated that the Executive had no 
authority to decide as to the relations between the Federal Gov- 
ernment and South Carolina, and that it was his *' duty to submit 
to Congress the whole question in all its bearings," and that they 
were aware that such was still his opinion. His earnest desire was 
that Congress, who alone possessed the power, might so dispose 
of the subject as to prevent the inauguration of a civil war in regard 
to the possession of the forts in the harbor of Charleston. He 
deeply regretted that, in the opinion of the Commissioners, " the 
events of the last twenty-four hours " rendered this impossible. 
In regard to the alleged '' pledges " referred to in the letter 
of the Commissioners and their violation, the President again 
referred to his message to Congress in regard to the property of 
the United States in South Carolina, and the tenure under which 
it was held. He recalled the interview of the 8th of December, 
between himself and some of the members of the delegation of 
South Carolina in Congress, and quoted in extenso, the memoran- 



PRESIDENT REPLIES TO COMMISSIONERS. I 5 7 

dum left with him by those members ; and he pointedly refers to 
his objection at the time to the word "provided," as capable of a 
construction into an agreement upon his part which he " never 
would make ; " and he stated, also, the reply of the delegation, 
that nothing was further from their intention, they did not so 
understand it, and that he, the President, should not so consider 
it. He denies, too, that the delegation could enter into any recip- 
rocal arrangement with him, and that they did not profess to have 
authority to do this, and were acting in their individual characters; 
and he states that he " considered it as nothing more than the 
promise of highly honorable gentlemen " to exert their personal 
influence in the matter. It was his " determination not to rein- 
force the forts in the harbor until they had been actually 
attacked," or until he had certain evidence that they were about 
to be attacked. 

He assures the Commissioners that he acted in the same man- 
ner that he would have done had he entered into a positive and 
formal agreement with parties capable of contracting, although 
such an agreement would have been, on his part, impossible. He 
had never sent reinforcements, and he had never authorized any 
change in the "relative military status." 

He then recites the orders sent to Major Anderson by the 
Secretary of War on the 11 th of December, but which were not 
brought to his notice until the 21st instant, at a meeting of his 
Cabinet, and which the President had forgotten. He claims that 
it was " clear that Major Anderson acted upon his own responsi- 
bility and without authority, unless, indeed, he had tangible evi- 
dence of a design to proceed to a hostile act;" that such act had 
not yet been alleged, but that Major Anderson " should not be 
condemned without a fair hearing." 

He further states to the Commissioners that his " first prompt- 
ings " were to restore the status, so far as Anderson was con- 
cerned, with the concurrence of the South Carolina authorities, 
" but before any steps could possibly be taken in this direction," 
the vacant forts in the harbor of Charleston had been seized by 
the State authorities, who, although they knew that Anderson's 
movement was not only without but against his orders, proceeded, 
without any demand or request for information or explanation, to 
take possession not only of the forts, but upon the same day to 
raise the flag of the State over the United States Custom House 



158 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

and Post Office, and subsequently to seize and occupy the United 
States arsenal, with its stores valued at half a million of dollars. 
It was under these circumstances that he was urged to withdraw 
the troops from the harbor of Charleston, as a step essential to 
the opening of negotiations, '* This," said he, "I cannot do; 
this I will not do. Such an idea was never thought of by me. 
No allusion to it has ever been made in any communication 
between myself and any human being." 

Nor did he admit the inference that because the officer in 
command of all the forts had, without instructions, changed his 
position from one to another, that therefore he was bound to with- 
draw the troops from the only fort in Charleston Harbor in the 
possession of the United States. He informs the Commissioners 
of the intelligence he had just received, of the seizure of the 
arsenal in Charleston, with its valuable stores, by the troops of 
the State, and he closes his communication with the statement 
that, while it is his duty to defend Fort Sumter against hostile 
attacks, he does not " perceive how such a defense can be con- 
strued into a menace against the city of Charleston." 

The reply of the President left little hope for negotiation. He 
had declined to disavow the act of Major Anderson, or to inter- 
fere with his movement. But even under these circumstances the 
Commissioners did not yet abandon hope that some temporary 
solution of the difficulty might be found, which would enable 
them to open the negotiation with which they were charged. 

After a careful and full consideration of the responsibility 
involved, they determined upon one more step, which would be the 
extreme exercise of their discretionary powers, however unlimited 
might be those powers as conferred by the Convention. They 
believed that the President was sincere in his desire to meet and 
deal fairly with them, but the movement of Major Anderson, made 
upon the day of their arrival, had involved the whole subject in 
doubt and complicated it beyond solution. 

" On the 30th the President replied to the letter of the Commis- 
sioners. On the same day I again saw the President, and found 
Mr. Toucey, the Secretary of the Navy, with him. I told him that 
with his permission I would like to have a half-hour's conversation, 
to which he very courteously assented. I then, as temperately as 
I could, commenced a review of the whole transaction. He 
stopped me, saying, ' You, of all persons, ought to know that it is 



THE PRESIDENT AND MR. TRESCOT. 



159 



exceedingly irregular and improper for the President to discuss 
such matters with the secretary of the Commissioners.' I told him 
that I was not secretary, nor had I any sort of official connection 
with the commission ; that I came to him, simply because he him- 
self had established my connection with these events, and in such 
a way that I thought I had a claim to be heard. ' In that case,' 
he said, 'proceed;' and I then had a long, very earnest and very 
interesting conversation with him. He showed a good deal of 
feeling, and seemed much worn and distressed. I inferred from all 
that passed that his difficulty consisted in this: that the seizure 
of the other forts by South Carolina rendered the restoration of 
the former status impossible, for if he ordered Anderson from 
Fort Sumter he had nowhere to send him, unless he withdrew him 
altogether from the harbor ; and this 'lowering of the flag,' in the 
face of an armed rebellion, both Mr. Toucey and himself thought 
was impossible in the face of Northern sentiment. Under this 
impression I went to Mr. Hunter, of Virginia, and told him that if 
that tvas the difficulty, to say to the President that if he would 
withdraw from Sumter, the State would withdraw from the other 
forts, and that Major Anderson would be as safe in Fort Moultrie 
as if he were here ; the Commissioners would accept this return 
to the status and guarantee his safety Mr. Hunter immediately 
went to him, and when he returned — I was waiting ai; his rooms 
— said: 'Tell the Commissioners it is hopeless. The President 
has taken his ground. I caiit repeat what passed, but if you can 
get a telegram to Charleston, telegraph at once to your people to 
sink vessels in the channel of the harbor ; ' and this message he 
sent the next morning again by his colleague, Mr. Mason. A mes- 
senger had, however, been sent the night before to Richmond to 
forward the telegram from that point. There is no doubt that at 
that time orders for reinforcement had been issued, although 
afterwards countermanded. In this condition of affairs, the Com- 
missioners addressed their second letter to the President and left 
Washington."* 

Anderson's action, while not inconsistent with the position of 
his message nor the official action of his Cabinet, was wholly in 
violation of the policy that the President had pursued. For a time 
he was undetermined as to what course to take, but he had 

* Trescoi's narrative. 



l6o THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

eventually prepared a draft of an answer to the South Carolina Com- 
missioners which yielded the point at issue, when, by the firm and 
decided action of his Secretary of State, the consequence of such 
action upon his part was presented in so clear a light as to induce 
him to change his purpose and his action completely, and to commit 
himself so positively as to leave henceforth no illusion as to his 
course. The alternative was forced upon him, either to sustain 
Major Anderson or to condemn him. " For a moment he wavered. 
But he could take no other course. Cass had left him, Cobb had 
gone, and Floyd was about to go. Neither Thompson nor Thomas 
could remain. South Carolina had seized the unoccupied forts 
and public property in her limits, and the excitement had spread 
through the South, arousing fierce and pronounced feeling. His 
Secretary of State and his Attorney-General said to him, 'Decide; 
whatever you may have done, we are uncommitted. Keep the 
word which the South says you have pledged, and we resign. We 
believe in the Union, and we will not betray it.' "* 

The Cabinet had resolved upon their action, and the Attorney- 
General, Mr. Stanton, thus forcibly expressed himself to the late 
Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Trescot, who was acting as the 
agent of South Carolina: "You say the President has pledged 
himself. I do not know it. I have not heard his account, but I 
know you believe it. For the present, I will admit it. The Presi- 
dent was pledged. Anderson's conduct has broken that pledge. 
You had two courses to choose: you had a right to either. You 
could have appealed to the President to redeem his pledge, or you 
could have said the circumstances under which the President has 
acted prove bad faith, we will not trust you any further, and then 
have acted as you saw fit, but you have no right to adopt both. 
Stand on the President's pledge and give him the chance to redeem 
it, or take the matter in your own hands. Now you have chosen, 
you have, by seizing the remaining forts and arsenals, undertaken 
to redress yourselves The President's pledge may be broken or 
not, that now concerns him individually — as to the Government, 
you have passed by the pledge and assumed, in vindication, a posi- 
tion of hostility; with that alone I have to deal." 

His friends were leaving him with the secession of every State, 
as the paity opposed to him grew daily in strength. He was to 



* Trescot's narrative. 



THE PRESIDENT YIELDS. igj 

end his days in the North, as his character was to stand or fall by 
Northern opinion. He yielded finally to the determined instance 
of his Secretary of State, and put h'mself in harmony with the 
Union sentiment. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Lieutenant-General Scott — His character and relations to the administration — 
Confidence of the people in him — His " Views" volunteered to the Secre- 
tary of War — Their peculiar character — Published without consent or 
knowledge of the President — President's surprise — Regards the Views as 
likely to be used to excite the people of the cotton Stales — No practicable 
plan proposed — President believed it impossible to garrison all the forts — 
His duty, as he viewed it — General Scott comes to Washington — Secretary 
of War does not agree with him — President's policy in contradistinction 
to that of General Scott — Feeling in the country that Fort Sumter should 
be relieved — Propositions from private sources — General Scott persists in 
his design and recommendation to reinforce Sumter— President agrees, 
and General Scott objects to plan proposed — Later, again urges reinforce- 
ments to Sumter — Feeling of the people — Voluntary expeditions offered — 
President's determination to send reinforcements in a ship of war overruled 
— Finally determines to send an officer to Anderson with certain inquiries 
— General Scott recommends a mercantile steamer — Star of the West sub- 
stituted for United States sloop of war i5r^i7,('/r« — Preparation for her voy- 
age — Meantime, Anderson reports himself safe — Sailing of the Star of the 
IVcst -Details of her voyage and arrival. 

While the correspondence between the Prezident and the 
South Carolina Commissioners was pending, the subject ot rein- 
forcing Fort Sumter was under daily discussion in the Cabinet. 
Various plans had been proposed, and among them one from the 
General-in-Chief himself. 

Lieutenant-General Scott was still at the head of the army. 
He was now over seventy-four years of age, and had grown old in 
the service of his country. The infirmities of age were upon him, 
and he was a prey to many physical disabilities, which wholly 
mcapacitated him for active service. He was now, as he had long 
been, the highest military authority in the country. Mexico and 
its brilliant campaign were still remembered by the generation 
who had witnessed it, and the minds of his countrymen were yet 
filled with gratitude for services, many of which, without involv- 
ing any great issues, were at the time and by circumstances 
important. 

And there were sagacious and patriotic men who, while still 

163 



GENERAL SCOTT'S VIEWS. 163 

earnestly working for a peaceful solution of the difficulties, were 
not disturbed at an issue of war, under the conscious assurance 
that General Winfield Scott still commanded the army. 

Nature had denied to him the power of a critical discrimina- 
tion, and when his mind had been directed to the consideration of 
political subjects or upon matters of State, his conclusions and 
expressions were oftentimes characterized by weakness. And hence, 
while there was every disposition to receive and to consider with 
respect any suggestion of a purely military nature that he might 
make, so far as it was uninfluenced by controlling questions of 
State, the political and civil recommendations with which they 
were often mingled, afforded an opportunity to an administration 
not in harmony with him to reject both. For many reasons his 
relations to the President were not cordial. During the war with 
Mexico, the President had been the Secretary of State of Mr. 
Polk's administration, and had taken sides against General Saott 
in his controversy with General Taylor. He opposed, at all times, 
his aspirations for the Presidency, and criticized the action of 
Congress in conferring upon General Scott, the brevet of lieutenant- 
general in the army.* The wounds had not healed, and through 
preference the General had maintained his headquarters perma- 
nently in the city of New York. As early as the 29th of October 
he had submitted, voluntarily, to the Secretary of War a paper 
entitled " Views Suggested by the Imminent Danger (October 29, 
i860) of a Disruption of the Union by the Secession of one or 
more of the Southern States." At this time the elections had not 
yet taken place, and no State had passed an Ordinance of Seces- 
sion. 

The views of the General contemplated only "a gap" in the 
Union by the withdrawal of an interior State or States, and which 
the Federal Government might re-establish by force in order to 
preserve the continuity of its territory; and in support of which he 
quotes from " Paley's Moral and Political Philosophy." But the 
falling off " of all the Atlantic States from the Potomac south, was 
not within the scope of General Scott's provisional remedies." A 
lesser evil than to unite the fragments of the Union by the sword 
would be, "he thought," to allow the fragments of the great 
Republic to form themselves into new confederacies, probably four, 



* Letter to J. W. Forney, December 15, 1852. Forney's Progress. 



\Fa:similed from the Original Letter, in possession of Mr. Robert Coster.] 




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164 



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l66 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

to each of which he assigns their proximate boundaries," after mrny 
waverings and conflicts."* 

In the formation of one of these confederacies, he thought that 
but little if any coercion, beyond moral force, would be necessary 
to embrace seven slave-holding States, with parts of Virginia and 
Florida, in a new confederacy with Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, etc., 
when the overwhelming weight of the great northwest was taken in 
connection with the laws of trade, contiguity of territory, and the 
comparative indifference to Free-soil doctrines on the part of West- 
ern Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri. He appeals to 
Virginia, and quotes the Declaration of Independence, that pru- 
dence dictated that governments should not be lightly changed, 
and also from " Paley's Moral Philosophy," that national honor 
was not to be pursued as distinct from national interest. 

The military point of the communication was embodied in a 
short statement that, from his knowledge of the Southern popula- 
tion, it was his solemn conviction that, preliminary to secession, 
there was danger of a seizure of some or of all of a number of 
Southern forts, then destitute of or without sufficient garrisons; 
and he recommends that all these works should be immediately 
so garrisoned as to make any attempt to take any one of them, 
by surprise or coup de main, ridiculous. f After some suggestions 
in regard to exports and the collection of imports upon ships of 
war, the "Views" conclude with the statement that they eschewed 
"the idea of invading a seceded State." 

This paper was published upon the authority of General Scott, 
in a daily journal in the city of Washington, J on the i8th day of 
January, 1861, without either "the consent or previous knowledge 
of the President," and for the assigned reason that it was neces- 
sary to correct misapprehensions " that had got abroad " in pub- 

* I. The Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic; 2. From 
Maryland along the coast to the Alleghany (perhaps the Blue Ridge) range of 
mountains, to some point on the coast of Florida; 3. The line from, say the 
head of the Potomac to the west or northwest, which it will be most difficult to 
settle; 4. The crest of the Rocky Mountains. And to the confederacies thus 
formed, he alleges their probable capitals. The New England Confederacy was 
to be formed of the New England and Middle States, and the Capitol at Wash- 
ington to be removed to Albany. 

t Forts St. Philip, New Orleans; Morgan, Alabama; Pickens and McRae, 
Pensacola, Fla.; Pulaski, Georgia; Moultrie and Sumter, South Carolina. 

X National Intelligencer, Washington, January 18, 1861. 



PRESIDENT'S COMMENTS. 167 

lie prints and speeches in regard to the "Views."* The President 
received the paper with surprise. He regarded that such an open 
expression of opinion from so distinguished a source as the 
General-in-Chief would be used by "disunion leaders" to mislead 
as well as to incite the people of the cotton States and " drive 
them to extremities." He thought, too, that in a report from the 
commanding general of the army to the Secretary of War, the 
political portion of the "Views" being speculative and prospective 
in their character, and unconnected " with military operations, was 
out of time and out of place." He considered, also, that a recom- 
mendation to garrison the nine Southern forts should have been 
accompanied by a "practical plan" for doing it, and its detail 
submitted to the President. The attention of General Scott was 
called to this omission, when on the following day, October 30, 
in a communication to the Secretary of War, entitled " Supple- 
mental Views," he simply stated that "there is one regular 
company at Boston, one here (at the Narrows), one at Pittsburg, 
one at Augusta, Ga., and one at Baton Rouge — in all five com- 
panies only, within reach, to garrison or reinforce the forts men- 
tioned in the "Views." 

The regular force at the disposal of the President was widely 
scattered upon the distant frontier, where its whole force, amount- 
ing at the maximum to 18,000 men, was required, he thought, for 
the protection of the border settlements.! General Scott, 
impressed with the necessity of giving reasonable security to the 
settlers, and considering this force as inadequate, had in 1857 
asked for an increase to the regular army of four regiments. 
His request had been approved by the President, who had recom- 
mended to Congress to raise five additional regiments, which, 
however, was not acted upon. J 

The President believed it to be " impossible to garrison the 
numerous forts in the United States in time of peace." Destitute 
as he was of military force, and without power, as he conceived, 
under the laws to call out the militia, or to accept the service of 
volunteers, he believed that to scatter the five companies among 
the nine forts in the Southern States "would have been a con- 



* Floyd at Richmond, upon his return in January, 1861. 
t Report of the Military Committee of the House of Representatives, Feb- 
ruary 18, 1 86 1. 

X United States Senate Documents, 1857-58. 



I 68 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

fession of weakness," as they were absurdly inadequate to the 
object in view, and that it would have done but little to have 
prevented secession, but would have tended rather to provoke it. 
It would have precipitated civil war, for which Congress had 
made no preparation, and it would have exasperated the border 
States and probably driven them into hostilities, and all hope of 
compromise would have been destroyed.* But his Attorney-Gen- 
eral believed that Fort Sumter should have been relieved under 
any circumstances, and with part of the five companies which 
General Scott had reported as available. He thought that Gen- 
eral Scott's report of the force available was not a correct one, as 
we had no Indian disturbances at that time, and more troops 
might have been had from the frontier. 

He therefore considered it to be his duty " to refrain from 
any act which might provoke or encourage the cotton States into 
secession, and to smooth the way for congressional compromise.f 

The " Views " submitted by General Scott were considered, 
by themselves, so impracticable in their nature, and so strange 
and inconsistent in character, that the President " dismissed them 
from his mind without further consideration." 

But General Scott was thoroughly alive to the dangers which 
threatened the country. On the 31st of October he suggested to 
the Secretary of War that a circular be sent to the forts warning 
the garrisons against sudden assaults, but this permission was 
not granted. 

On December 12 he arrived in Washington, and in a personal 
interview with the Secretary of War he urged the same views, and 
points out the organized companies and the recruits at the prin- 
cipal depots available for the purpose. 

The Secretary did not agree with him, nor could he have done 
so without putting himself in opposition to the announced policy 
of the President; but in accordance with the request of General 
Scott an mterview for the 15th of December with the President 
was arranged. At this interview the whole subject was discussed, 
and General Scott renewed his recommendation for reinforcement. 
His recommendation was unexpected. The President gave his 
opinion that no immediate secession beyond South Carolina was to 



* "Buchanan's Administration." 

t Conversation with Judge Black at his residence, November 17, 1880. 



GENERAL SCO TT RENE WS HIS EFFOR TS. 1 69 

be apprehended, and he declined to reinforce Fort Moultrie or to 
garrison Fort Sumter, as the proper time had not in his judgment 
arrived. He determmed to await the action of the South Carolina 
Convention and the arrival of Commissioners to him, which he 
would refer to Congress, and if Congress should decide against 
them, he would then reinforce the forts in Charleston Harbor and 
direct the commanding officer to defend them. He had at this 
time defined his policy, if indeed he had a policy. In opposition 
to the opinion of General Scott, he thought that there was no 
present necessity of any reinforcements to secure the forts in the 
harbor of Charleston, and he believed in the possibility of an adjust- 
ment. He desired, too, to separate South Carolina from the other 
Southern States, and he was convinced that any attack made by her 
upon Fort Moultrie would be condemned by them. When the 
Secretary of War referred to the fact that the sloop of war Brook- 
lyn, with 300 men, lay in readiness at Norfolk to sail at any moment 
to Charleston, an objection was at once made by General Scott to 
taking so many men from Fortress Monroe, but that they might be 
taken from New York. He thought, however, that it would be 
then too late, as the South Carolinians would "have the game in 
their hands," and that as Fort Sumter was not garrisoned, any 
handful of men might seize it. At a later period, the General thought 
that if the 300 men had been sent then or later, both forts would 
have remained in the possession of the Government; no batteries 
could have been erected, and the access to the sea been preserved.* 
How Mr. Buchanan regarded these statements and comments of 
General Scott when long afterward (October, 1862) they first fell 
under his observation, will be seen in a subsequent part of this 

narrative.! 

General Scott now became persistent in his efforts to relieve the 
situation. Upon the 28th of December,after the movement of Major 
Anderson to Fort Sumter, he urged upon the Secretary of War that 
Fort Sumter might not be evacuated, but that 150 recruits might 
"instantly" be sent to Fort Sumter, with ample supplies of sub- 
sistence and ammunition; and he renews his recommendation in 
regard to the forts upon the Southern coast. It was upon the same 

* Scott's autobiography, p. 615. , „ . ... ,t- 

t General Scott was burned in effigy January 12, at the University of Vir- 
ginia, by the students, amid cheers for the seceding States and groans for 
Anderson, who was called the American Sultan. 



170 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



day that the Commissioners from South Carolina held their first 
and only interview with the President. On the following day (the 
29th) he addressed a communication to the brother of Major Ander- 
son, and informed him that the War Department had kept secret 
from him (General Scott) the instructions sej,it to Major Ander- 
son, but that he, in common with the whole army, had admired 
and indicated as a defensive measure the masterly transfer of the 
garrison to Fort Sumter. 

Meantime, the feeling that relief should be sent to Fort Sumter 
began to manifest itself among the people, and proposals of every 
character for relieving Fort Sumter were made by patriotic citizens 
throughout the country to the President and to General Scott. 
Among these, on the 29th of December, a proposal was made to 
Lieutenant-General Scott by Mr James A. Hamilton, of New York, 
that Major Anderson should at once be reinforced by a force of 
from 100 to 400 volunteers; and he asks a letter of introduction to 
Major Anderson, that these volunteers were to be guests of Major 
Anderson, but subject to his command. The patriotic feeling that 
suggested this extraordinary proposition was approved by General 
Scott, who read it to the President, who also approved the spirit; 
but they equally agreed that the immediate military needs of the 
country required no appeal to militia or volunteers in aid of the 
regular force. 

Impatient at the apparent delay, General Scott again addressed 
the President, on the 30th, and requested permission to send, as 
secretly as possible and without reference to the War Department, 
250 recruits from New York Harbor, to reinforce Fort Sumter, and 
that a sloop of war and a cutter may be ordered for that purpose 
as early as to-morrow. For some time the sloop of ^zx Brooklyn, 
under the command of Captain Farragut, had been lying oft Fort- 
ress Monroe, with secret instructions to hold herself in readiness 
to proceed with 300 men to Fort Moultrie in case *' of its attack 
or danger of attack." In view of the movement of Major Ander- 
son and the seizure by the State authorities of the forts and pub- 
lic property in the city and harbor of Charleston, the President had 
determined upon sending reinforcements, but he deemed that a 
ship of war with experienced troops was preferable to a sloop of 
war and a cutter with 250 recruits. She could not cross the bar: 
and overruling the suggestion of Lieutenant-General Scott, he deter- 
mined to send the BrooJdyn to the relief of Major Anderson, 



DISCUSSION IN THE CABINET. 171 

On the following morning he gave the necessary orders to his 
secretaries. His course was endorsed by General Scott, who called 
upon him on the evening of the 31st to congratulate him that the 
orders had been issued and'were in his possession.* Upon the same 
day an order was issued by Lieutenant-General Scott to the com- 
manding officer of Fort Monroe to prepare and put upon the 
Brooklyn four companies, making at least 200 men, destined to rein- 
force Fort Sumter, with twenty-five spare stands of arms and sub- 
sistence for the detachment for ninety days, and that everything 
was to be managed " as secretly and confidentially as possible." 
During the interview between the President and General Scott, it 
was agreed that before issuing the orders an opportunity should 
be given to the South Carolina Commissioners to reply to the Pres- 
ident's letter sent to them a few hours before; and it was the 
President's opinion that as " this letter would doubtless speedily 
terminate their mission," the delay could not exceed forty-eight 
hours. General Scott deemed this as only ''gentlemanly and 
proper," and the orders were withheld temporarily. The delay gave 
rise to " a prolonged and heated discussion in the Cabinet," when 
it was finally determined to send an officer to Major Anderson to 
inquire of him whether he needed reinforcements, or desired that 
they should be sent to him.f Fearful of further delay the Secre- 
tary of State inquired: "Does the sending of a messenger imply 
that no additional troops are to be sent until his return ?" " It 
implies nothing," replied the President. The tone of the Presi- 
dent's letter to the Commissioners, and the determination evinced, 
satisfied them that negotiation was impossible, and they prepared 
to return to South Carolina. The interview between the President 
and Senator Hunter had taken place on the 30th of December. On 
the I St of January the Commissioners prepared their final answer, 
and it was upon the 2d — when, at a Cabinet meeting and at the 
moment when in accordance with the plan determined upon, that 
the Postmaster-General, Mr. Holt, was writing down the questions 
to be put toMajor Anderson — that this communication was handed 
to the President, when it was at once read in the presence of the 
Cabinet. It began by a reference to his declaration that he pos- 
sessed no power to change the existing relations between the State 



*In his "pocket," as he expressed himself, 
t C. F. Black, manuscript. 



172 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



and the Government, to acknowledge the independence of the 
State, nor to recognize the official character of the gentlemen who 
had addressed him. To this they replied, that the State of South 
Carolina having exercised the great right of self-government, they 
had no special solicitude as to the character in which he might 
recognize them, and thcit they were willing to waive any formal 
considerations which his constitutional scruples " might have pre- 
vented him from extending." 

His willingness to receive them and submit the propo- 
sitions which they should make to Congress was to them ample 
recognition of the condition of public affairs which rendered 
their presence necessary. They recall a portion of the President's 
letter in which he had expressed his desire that the whole subject 
might be referred to Congress, and his regret that in the opinion 
of the Commissioners "the events of the last twenty-four hours 
render this impossible ;" and they assert that the language which 
had been quoted as theirs by him " is altered in its sense by the 
omission of a most important part of the sentence;" that what 
they did say was, " But the events of the last twenty-four hours 
render such an assurance impossible." An assurance that they 
were ready to enter upon the negotiation, with an earnest desire upon 
their part to avoid all unnecessary collision. In their communi- 
cation they review the acts of the President from the passage of 
the Ordinance of Secession by the Convention, which manifested a 
desire upon his part to settle the difficulties without collision; the 
ground taken in his annual message, that he had no right to coerce 
a seceded State ; his refusal to send reinforcements to Charleston 
Harbor ; his return of the arms taken from the arsenal to arm the 
employees of the engineer ; his understanding with the South 
Carolina delegation; and his pledge to return to them the paper 
they had given him, should he determine to send reinforcements. 
The facts of their mission to him were stated, their arrival, and 
the news of Major Anderson's movement, which was at once 
communicated to him, and their call upon him to redeem the 
"pledge' that he had made. That he did not deny it then, nor did 
he now, but that he sought " to escape from its obligation " on the 
ground that the Commissioners terminated all negotiation by de- 
manding as a preliminary the withdrawal of the United States 
troops from the harbor of Charleston, and from the action of the 
State authorities, who, instead of asking an explanation of Ander- 



COMMISSIONERS' ANSWER. I ^'i^ 

son's movement, " took possession of other property of the United 
States." 

They deny that any such demand was made by them ; that 
there was nothing in their letter which could have prevented him 
from decUning to withdraw the troops, " and offering the restora- 
tion of the status " to which he was pledged, if he had desired to 
do it; that, whatever might be his assertion, " such an idea was 
never thought of " by him. His conversation left upon their minds 
the distinct impression that he did " seriously contemplate the 
withdrawal of the troops from Charleston Harbor," and that he 
had discussed the subject with " gentlemen of the highest possible 
public reputation," and whose testimony was beyond cavil; and 
that it was the knowledge of this fact that induced them to urge 
upon him a policy that had the weight of such authority. 

They deny that the action of the State authorities availed him 
for defense, for the opportunity of decision was afforded him be- 
fore these facts occurred. That on the very day that the news 
of Major Anderson's movement came, men who had striven suc- 
cessfully to lift him to his great office, who had been his tried and 
true friends through his troubles, entreated him " to act," and " to 
act at once " He was told that every hour complicated his 
position, and he was only asked to give the assurance that if 
Anderson had acted " without and against his orders and in vio- 
lation of his pledges," he would restore the " status " which he 
had pledged his " honor to maintain." The letter recalled his 
refusal to do this, the action of the Secretary of War, and the fact 
that " more than twelve hours passed and the Cabinet meeting 
had adjourned before you (he) knew what the authorities of South 
Carolina had done," and that even if he had known it he should 
have kept his faith. That as to Fort Sumter, " the people were 
with difficulty restrained from securing, without blood, the posses- 
sion of this important fortress," but that they thought kindly of 
the President, believed him true, and were willing to spare him 
unnecessary collision ; but that the Commissioners had hardly 
left Charleston before Anderson waged war. " No man could 
have believed," said they, " that any officer could have taken such 
a step, not only without orders, but against orders;" that the 
State acted in simple self-defense, for the act of Major Anderson 
was as much war as firing a volley. All this was done, they 
allege, without the slightest provocation, and that no evidence in 



I 74 r//E GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

justification of the movement had yet been alleged. They recog- 
nize his decision: he had resolved to hold by force what he had 
obtained through their " misplaced confidence," and, by refus 
ing to withdraw Anderson, had " converted his violation of orders 
into a legitimate act of your (his) Executive authority." And 
they conclude their letter by an assertion that, by his course, he 
had probably rendered civfl war inevitable ; that if he chose to 
force the issues upon them, the State of South Carolina would ac- 
cept it, and, relying upon the " God of Justice as well as the God 
of Hosts," would endeavor to perform the duty which lay before 
her, hopefully, bravely and thoroughly.* 

The Commissioners, convinced that the troops would not be 
withdrawn from Fort Sumter, and apprehensive that reinforce- 
ments were about to be sent to the garrison, transmitted their 
letter at once to the President and left the city on the afternoon 
of the 2d of January. 

The effect produced by this communication was immediate 
and decided. It excited so much indignation as to leave no illu- 
sion as to the disposition to be made of it. 

The President, taking his pen, wrote across the manuscript : 

"Executive Mansion, 3:30 o'clock, Wednesday. 

" This paper, just presented to the President, is of such a 
nature that he declines to receive it;" and at once caused its 
return to the Commissioners. 

The discussion in the Cabinet was an open one ; and the 
decision of the President was announced in as "emphatic terms" 
as he probably ever addressed to one of his Secretaries. Turn- 
ing to his Secretary of War, he said, " It is now over, and reinforce- 
ments must now be sent." 

There was now no longer either reason or excuse for delay, 
when, upon the same day that the letter of the Commissioners 
was returned to them by the President, he was informed by the 
Secretaries of War and of the Navy that Lieutenant-General 
Scott, upon conferring with an expert in naval affairs, had become 
convinced that both secrecy and success would be best secured 
by sending a "mercantile steamer" with the recruits from New 
York. The President yielded with great reluctance to the 
"pressing instance" of Lieutenant-General Scott himself, and 



• Commissioners' letter. Executive Doc H. R. V^ol. 6, No. 26. 



EXPEDITIOI^ OF STAR OF THE WEST. 



175 



the Star of the West, a side-wheel merchant steamer, was substi- 
tuted for the sloop of war Brooklyn* 

The detail of the despatch of the expedition was entrusted to 
General Scott. Proposals in view of such action had previously 
been submitted by Mr. A. C. Schultze, a merchant of New York, 
who was at once informed by General Scott that his proposals 
were entertained, and who despatched Lieutenant - Colonel 
Thomas, the Assistant Adjutant-General upon his staff, to New 
York to superintend the detail of the expedition. Colonel 
Thomas was directed to satisfy himself that Mr. Schultze's 
agency was reliable, and he was then to forward the expedition 
secretly and with all despatch. That officer proceeded at once 
to New York, and on the 4th of January he reported to the 
General-in-Chief that he was satisfied that the movement could be 
made with the Star of the West without exciting suspicion ; and 
that through the agency of Mr. Schultze he had chartered her at 
$1,500 per day from Mr. Marshal O. Roberts, who, as Colonel 
Thomas reported, "looked exclusively to the dollars," while Mr. 
Schultze was "acting for the good of his country." The troops 
were to be concealed upon reaching the harbor of Charleston, and 
Major Anderson was to be warned against all telegrams, and 
informed that his conduct met with the approbation of the high- 
est authority, and that further reinforcements would be sent to 
him, if necessary. 

The ship was to clear for New Orleans without formal notice, 
and as if for her regular trip. The provisions necessary were to 
be bought on the ship's account, so that no public agency should 
be used. The arms and ammunition were to be put on board 
the next day by means of tugs from Governor's Island, when all 
communication with the island and the city was to be cut off 
temporarily. The orders to the proper officers were promptly 
executed, and First Lieutenant C. R. Woods, of the Ninth United 
States Infantry, assisted by two lieutenants and a medical officer, 
was placed in command of the military force. 

Major Anderson was also informed by letter of the character 
and composition of the expedition on the day that it sailed, and 
special instructions were communicated to him that, if fire should 
be opened upon any vessel bringing reinforcements or supplies 



* "Buchanan's Administration," p. 189. 



1 76 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

within reach of his guns, " they may be employed to silence such 
fire;" and he was also to act in like manner in case that his fort 
was fired upon. 

The three months' supply of subsistence was promptly trans- 
ferred on board the vessel, and at 5 p. m. of the 5th of January 
the Star of the West left her wharf and proceeded down the bay. 
When near Staten Island she stopped, and received on board from 
a steam-tug four officers and 200 men, with their small-arms and 
ammunition, and at 9 p. M. she crossed the bar at the mouth of 
the harbor and steamed to the southward. In spite, however, of 
the efforts to conceal the movement, a New York journal an- 
nounced the fact in its afternoon edition of the 5th of January. 

Colonel Thomas had informed the General-in-Chief by tele- 
gram, on the morning of the 4th of January, that the arrange- 
ments were made as proposed, and that the expedition would 
leave the following evening. Meantime, mtelligence had reached 
Washington from Major Anderson that he felt himself to be se- 
cure in his position, and he thanked God that " we are now where 
the Government may send us additional troops at their leisure." 

Information had reached the Government on the 5th inst. 
of the establishment of the battery on Morris Island, which 
would in all probability destroy any unarmed vessel attempt- 
ing to pass it. Influenced by these considerations, and op- 
posed as he was to the use of an unarmed vessel for such service, 
and deeming it not absolutely necessary at that time that rein- 
forcements should be sent, the President, with the acquiescence 
of General Scott, countermanded the order for the sailing of the 
Star of the West. On the evening of the 5th of January a tele- 
gram was despatched by the General-in-Chief to his son-in-law 
and A. A. C, Colonel H. L. Scott, at New York, to retain the 
ship. It reached that officer at too late an hour, as the ship had 
then left the harbor. 

Later, upon the 7th of January, an order was sent by the Sec- 
retary of the Navy to the commander of the Brooklyn to escort 
and protect the Star of the West, and the officer in command of 
the expedition was informed by General Scott that the Brooklyn 
would " aid and succor " him in case of disaster to his ship. If 
he could not land at Fort Sumter he was to return to Fortress 
Monroe and discharge his ship. 

On the loth of January the Secretary of War ad interim, Mr. 



SECRETARY OF WAR TO MAJOR ANDERSON. \ J J 

Holt, addressed a communication to Major Anderson acknowl- 
edging the receipt of his letter announcing that the Government 
might reinforce him at its leisure, and that he felt secure in his 
position; and he informed him that the Star of the JVest had been 
ordered to him with reinforcements, that the probability was that 
she had been fired into and had not been able to reach him. 
The letter was as follows : 

" War Department, 

" January lo, 1861. 
" Major Robert Anderson, 

" First Artillery, Cotn?nafidifig at Fort Sumter, S. C. : 
<' Sir : Your dispatches to No. 16, inclusive, have been re- 
ceived. Before the receipt of that of 31st December,* announcing 
that the Government might re-enforce you at its leisure, and that 
you regarded yourself safe in your present position, some two 
hundred and fifty instructed recruits had been ordered to proceed 
from Governor's Island to Fort Sumter on the Star of the West, 
for the purpose of strengthening the force under your command. 
The probability is, from the current rumors of to-day, that this ves- 
sel has been fired into by the South Carolinians, and has not been 
able to reach you. To meet all contingencies, the Brooklyn has 
been dispatched, with instructions not to cross the bar at the har- 
bor of Charleston, but to afford to the Star of the West and those 
on board all the assistance they may need, and in the event the 
recruits have not effected a landing at Fort Sumter they will 
return to Fort Monroe. 

" I avail myself of the occasion to express the great satisfac- 
tion of the Government at the forbearance, discretion and firm- 
ness with which you have acted, amid the perplexing and difficult 
circumstances in which you have been placed. You will continue, 
as heretofore, to act strictly on the defensive; to avoid, by all 
means compatible with the safety of your command, a collision 
with the hostile forces by which you are surrounded. But for the 
movement, so promptly and brilliantly executed, by which you 
transferred your forces to Fort Sumter, the probability is that ere 
this the defenselessness of your position would have invited an 
attack, which, there is reason to believe, was contemplated, 
if not in active preparation, which must have led to the effusion 
of blood, that has been thus so happily prevented. The move- 
ment, therefore, was in every way admirable, alike for its humanity 
[and] patriotism, as for its soldiership. 

"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
" J. Holt, 
" Secretary of War ad interim." 



• Received January 5, 1861. 



I 7S T'HE GENESIS OE THE CIVIL WAR. 

As the members were leaving the Cabinet session on the 3d 
inst., when the determination of the President had been an- 
nounced, the Secretary of the Interior had been aslced by the 
Secretary of State, Judge Black, "in a spirit of kindness and 
friendship," if in case troops should be sent to Charleston, would 
he feel bound to resign.* His reply was, that he would so feel 
bound, when the Secretary of State requested that he might have 
an opportunity to talk with him before he acted. To this the 
Secretary of the Interior agreed, assuring Judge Black at the 
same time that he had no thought that his purpose could be 
changed, and he asks Judge Black if, at the time of that 
conversation, he knew that troops had been ordered with the 
knowledge of the President. In order to restrain the South Caro- 
linians from coming in contact with the Government, an event 
which he believed would only be disastrous to both sections of the 
country, and in order to keep his correspondents apprised of the 
action of the Government, the Secretary of the Interior had opened 
and contmued a correspondence, both by letter and telegram, with 
Judge A. B. Longstreet, a distinguished citizen of South Carolina. 
On the morning of the 5th of January, the day upon which the Star 
of the West left New York, he had answered a direct inquiry of 
his correspondent as follows : 

" I cannot speak by authority, but I do not believe any addi- 
tional troops will be sent to Charleston while the present status 
lasts. If Fort Sumter is attacked, they will be sent, I believe." 

And to a Mr. A. N. Kimball, of Jackson, Miss., he had tele- 
graphed on the previous day, " No troops have been sent to 
Charleston, nor will be, while I am a member of the Cabinet." 

When, therefore, he was apprised of the fact by a telegram in 
the Constitution newspaper of the 8th inst., that an expedition had 
actually sailed and was then on its way to Charleston Har- 
bor, he M'as surprised and affected by the intelligence. He had 
every reason to think that his assurances, made in good faith, had 
done much to maintain the peaceful status which until now had 
prevailed in the harbor and to save Sumter from an attack. He 
at once determined to resign his position, and while so engaged 
in the presence of the Secretary of State, a telegraphic inquiry in 
regard to the sailing of the Star of the West reached him from 



* Mr. Thompson to Judge Black, January 14, 1861. 



SEC. OF INTERIOR AND STAR OF THE WEST. 



1/9 



Judge Longstreet. He considered that he had been trifled with, 
if not deceived, and claimed it to be his duty, although in so do- 
ing it might imperil the Star of the IVest and her mission, to 
remove the delusion into which he had unconsciously led his cor- 
respondent; and that in informing him, while still a member of the 
Cabinet, that reinforcements had actually been sent, but without 
his knowledge or consent, he was not violating his official duty or 
taking improper advantage of his position, but that " honor, truth 
and justice" to Judge Longstreet and himself required of him 
a reply.* 

He accordingly prepared the despatch at his house and exhib- 
ited it to Judge Black, the Secretary of State, who had gone 
there in order to persuade him from the act. It was to the effect 
that the Sta?- of the West, with 250 troops aboard, had sailed (by 
order of the Hon. J. Holt, the then Secretary of War) on Monday 
morning to reinforce Major Anderson at Charleston. The Secre- 
tary had fully made up his mind, and entrusting the despatch to 
William W. Cowling, the messenger of his Department, he direct- 
ed him to cause its transmission by telegraph to his correspond- 
ent in South Carolina. But the messenger had been present, 
and had heard the discussion that took place between the Secre- 
tary of the Interior and the Secretary of State, the former 
insisting that it was a matter in which his honor was involved, 
and that the course he proposed to pursue, was a " sacred 
duty," while the latter "kindly but firmly protested against 
Mr. Thompson's action, and attempted to dissuade him from 
taking such a course."! He had been present, too, at other 
conversations between the Secretary of the Interior and 
Southern Members of Congress and other distinguished Southern 
men, and he was prepared to expect that at any moment hostil- 
ities might commence. Uncertain as to what course to pursue, 
the messenger proceeded to the office of the chief clerk, Mr. 
Moses Kelly, to whom he submitted the despatch, and who assured 
the messenger that he should do what he thought would be right, 
and it would be right. The messenger then tendered his 



* Mr. Thompson's letter, March li, to the National Intelligencer, Charles- 
ton Mercury, March 21, 1861. 

■f Cowling's statement, Judge Black's papers. 



I§0 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

resignation, as he had resolved to disobey the order of the 
Secretary and not to deliver the despatch. 

Shortly afterward, meeting the Hon. John Sherman, then a 
Member of Congress from Ohio, he submitted the message to him 
and informed him that he intended to detain it. In this resolve 
he was sustained by Mr. Sherman, with a promise of protection in 
case that trouble should arise from his action. 

The message intrusted to Cowling was not sent; but whether 
from suspicion of his agent or from an anxiety to ensure the 
transmission of the information, or whether he had again 
heard from his correspondent, the Secretary again telegraphed, 
on the morning of the 8th of January, that the Star of the 
West had sailed for Charleston with 250 troops on board, 
and that "she ought to reach the city on that day. The 
Secretary was not alone in thus informing the South Carolina 
authorities, for upon the same morning similar information 
was forwarded by Senator Wigfall, of Texas, and L. Q. Wash- 
ington, from the city of Washington, and also by Mr. W. S. Ashe, 
from Wilmington, N. C. On the 7th a telegram signed Jones, 
and to the same effect, had been communicated to the 
Convention at its evening session. The telegram of L. Q. Wash- 
ington was important ; it informed Governer Pickens that " Sec- 
retary Thompson has resigned. Government troops were sent 
on Saturday night from New York to Charleston. Mr. Thomp- 
son has been deceived by the administration. These facts 
I derived from Mr. Barksdale, of Mississippi, who has left Secre- 
tary Thompson. (Signed) L. Q. Washington." 

These telegrams reached Charleston before 5 o'clock p. m. of 
the 8th, thus warning the authorities, but barely in time for them 
to complete their preparations of resistance. 

The action of the Secretary of the Interior was made the sub- 
ject of severe criticism. The Secretary of War, Mr. Holt, in 
communication to a daily, journal in Washington, on the 5th of 
March, asserted that the Secretary of the Interior, while yet a 
member of the Cabinet, disclosed to those who were in open 
rebellion against the United States information which he had 
derived from his official position, and which he held under the seals 
of a confidence that from the beginning of our history as a nation 
had not been violated. 

This met with the earnest and emphatic denial of Mr. Thomp- 



RESIGNA TION OF SECRE TAR Y OF INTERIOR, \ 8 I 

son, who insisted that the information came to him through the 
public prints, and was known to every well-informed man in the 
city of Washington as soon as to him.* 

Secretary Holt, however, maintained the opinion that, from 
whatever source the information was derived, the Secretary of the 
Interior was bound as a Secretary of the President to keep it 
secret — a position that was unassailable. 

Upon the same day he transmitted his formal resignation to 
the President as follows: 

"Washington, January 8, 1861. 

" Sir: It is with extreme regret I have just learned that 
additional troops have been ordered to Charleston. This subject 
has been frequently discussed in Cabinet coCincil; and when on 
Monday night, 31st of December, ult., the orders for reinforce- 
ments to Fort Sumter were countermanded, I distinctly understood 
from you that no order of the kind would be made without being 
previously considered and decided in Cabinet. It is true that on 
Wednesday, January 2, this subject was again discussed in Cabi- 
net, but certainly no conclusion was reached, and the War De- 
partment was not justified in ordering reinforcements without 
something more than was then said. I learn, however, this 
morning, for the first time, that the steamer Star of the West 
sailed from New York last Saturday night with 250 men, under 
Lieutenant Bartlett, bound for Fort Sumter. Under these circum- 
stances I feel myself bound to resign my commission as one of 
your constitutional advisers into your hands. 

" With life regard, your obedient servant, 

(Signed) "J. Thompson. 

" His Excellency James Buchanan, 
" President of the United States." 

From the fact that reinforcements were determined upon, the 
President had anticipated the resignation of his Secretary, and in 
accepting it he tells him that he (the Secretary) had been so 
emphatic in opposing reinforcements that his resignation was 
expected in consequence of the President's decision. 

The letter of the President was as follows: 

"Washington, January 9, 1861. 

^'Sir: I have received and accepted your resignation yes- 
terday of the office of Secretary of the Interior. 

"On Monday evening, 31st December, i860, I suspended the 
orders which had been issued by the War and Navy Departments 
to send the Brooklyn with reinforcements to Fort Sumter. Of 



* Mr. Thompson's reply, March 21, 1861. 



I 82 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVH WAR. 

this I informed you on the same evening. I stated to you my 
reasons for this suspension, which you knew, from its nature, 
would be speedily removed. In consequence of your request, 
however, I promised that these orders should not be renewed 
'without being previously considered and decided in Cabinet.' 

"This promise was faithfully observed on my part. In order 
to carry it into effect, I called a special Cabinet meeting on Wed- 
nesday, January 2, 1861, in which the question of sending rein- 
forcements to Fort Sumter was amply discussed, both by your- 
self and others. The decided majority of opinions was against 
you. At this moment the answer of the South Carolina ' Com- 
missioners ' to my communication and others of the 31st De- 
cember was received and read. It produced much indignation 
among the members of the Cabinet. After a further brief con- 
versation, I employed the following language : * It is now all 
over; reinforcements must be sent.' Judge Black said, at the 
moment of my decision, that after this letter the Cabinet would 
be unanimous, and I heard no dissenting voice. Indeed, the 
spirit and tone of the letter left no doubt on my mind that Fort 
Sumter would be immediately attacked, and hence the necessity 
of sending reinforcements there without delay. Whilst you 
admit that on Wednesday, January 2, this subject was again dis- 
cussed in Cabinet, you say ' but certainly no conclusion was 
reached, and the War Department was not justified in ordering 
more than what was then said.' 

" You are certainly mistaken in alleging that no conclusion 
was reached. 

" In this, your recollection is entirely different from that of 
your four oldest colleagues in the Cabinet. Indeed, my lan- 
guage was so unmistakable that the Secretaries of War and the 
Navy proceeded to act upon it, without any further intercourse 
with myself than what you heard or might have heard me say. 
You had been so emphatic in opposing these reinforcements that 
I thought you would resign in consequence of my decision. I 
deeply regret that you have been mistaken in point of fact, 
though, I firmly believe, honestly mistaken. Still it is certain 
you have not the less been mistaken. 

" Yours very respectfully, 

(Signed) " James Buchanan." 

After severing his connection with the Cabinet the Secretary 
proceeded to his State, and there, in a speech to an assemblage 
that had met to greet him, he announced that as he was writing 
his resignation he sent a despatch to Judge Longstreet that the 
Star of the West was coming with reinforcements. " The 
troops," said he, "were thus put on their guard, and when the 
Star of the West arrived, she received a warm welcome from 



SAILING OF THE STAR OF THE WEST. 183 

booming cannon, and soon beat a retreat. I was rejoiced the 
vessel was not sunk, but I was still more rejoiced that the con- 
cealed trick, first conceived by General Scott and adopted by 
Secretary Holt, but countermanded by the President when too 
late, proved a failure."* 

Meantime, the Star of the West pursued her course towards 
Charleston. t The weather was fine, and off the coast of North 
Carolina she stopped to fish. A skilled pilot accompanied the 
ship. At 1:30 on the mornmg of the 9th she arrived off the 
Charleston bar. At first there were no lights to be seen. 
Extinguishing her own, she groped in the dark until near dawn, 
when the solitary light at Sumter became visible. Checking her 
course, she steamed slowly along under careful soundings, until 
she arrived off the main ship channel, where she hove to, to await 
the dawn. At daylight a steamer was discovered a short dis- 
tance in-shore. Upon seeing the ship, she immediately com- 
menced signalling by colored lights and rockets, and steamed 
rapidly in for the bar. A pilot-boat had come in and had raised 
and lowered a large American flag, and then stood out again to sea. 

In order to get the proper range for crossing the bar, the 
ship remained hove to until there was sufficient light to see the 
light-house on Morris Island. All of the buoys that marked the 
channel had been taken up, rendering careful soundings neces- 
sary. At 6:20 A. M. the national flag was run to the peak, and the 
ship crossed the bar at high water and continued along the Morris 
Island side up the ship channel; the steamer before noticed keep- 
ing on her course toward Moultrie, about a mile distant and 
constantly signalling. 

When opposite to a group of houses near the shore, a red 
Palmetto flag was seen, and immediately and without warning a 
gun - battery opened upon the ship. The battery was con- 
cealed amid the sand-hills near the shore, and its existence had been 
unsuspected. Its first shot had been fired across the bow of the 
ship, which, however, continued on its course, when a rapid and 
continuous fire was opened by the battery. The firing was wild 
and unskillful, narrowly missing the pilot-house and machmery. 
One spent shot struck the ship aft near the rudder, while another 



* National Intelligencer, March 2, 1 86 1, 
f Captain McGowan's report. 



1 84 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL iVAk. 

struck just aft the port channels, about two feet above the vvater- 
Hne, passing through one of the guards. As soon as the battery 
had opened fire, a large garrison flag was run up at the fore, low- 
ered, and again run up as a signal to Major Anderson, whose flag 
was flying at Sumter. Just before leaving New York this flag 
had been sent on board by Assistant Adjutant-General Thomas, 
who accompanied the officers and men to the ship, and who com- 
municated to the captain definite orders to the effect that he was 
to hoist it " at the fore, in case the batteries fired " upon him, 
" and that Major Anderson would understand it and protect the 
ship with the guns of Sumter." 

The Star of the West had now almost passed the battery, and 
continued her course against a strong ebb tide, up the main ship 
channel. Her draft of water rendered this necessary, and she 
would soon be within the range of the guns of Fort Moultrie, then 
distant about one and a half miles. Seeing her approach, the 
commanding officer of that work determined to gratify the anxiety 
of his men " to try a shot,"* and changing the elevation of her 
guns, opened at long range with four Columbiads and two 
32-pounders, the shots falling wildly and in all directions. Fort 
Sumter was silent. It was then determined, both by the officer 
in command of the troops and the captain of the ship, that it was 
impossible to reach Fort Sumter. Had she continued upon 
her course it would have been necessary to have gone bows-on 
to a buoy in the channel 1,100 yards from the fort, where, to 
enter the inner harbor, she must have exposed her broadside 
to the direct and close fire of the entire battery of Fort Moultrie 
bearing on the channel, and whose fire would have been, 
in all probability, fatal. Lessening her speed she came round 
in a narrow part of the channel, lowered the flag from her 
fore, and putting on all steam headed down the channel for the 
bar, the battery on Morris Island continuing its fire as long as 
the ship was within range, but without injury. The strong ebb- 
tide carried the ship swiftly out of range to the bar, upon which 
the tide had so fallen that she struck three times in crossing it. 
A steamer from Charleston followed the retiring ship for some 
hours, but finally returned. There was no communication with 
any vessel or boats, or with any persons, nor was any warning 



* Colonel Ripley's official report. 



FIRED UPON— ITS EFFECT IN SUMTER. \ 85 

not to enter the harbor given to the ship from any source what- 
ever that was understood. Upon the evening of the day upon 
which the firing took place, Captain Carraghan, a pilot, who was 
stationed with his boat off the bar to warn vessels bearing the 
United States flag not to enter, was summoned before the Ex- 
ecutive Council in Charleston. He stated that he saw the Star 
of the West that morning, "and made every effort to hail her, 
and hoisted a white flag, but that she took no notice of it."* 

The garrison of Fort Sumter was not without warning, although 
unofficial and accidental, that an effort to relieve and reinforce 
them was about to be made. By a boat which came to the fort 
on the 8th of January with some employees of the Engineer 
Department, a newspaper was received which announced that 
the Star of the West was to sail with reinforcements for the fort, 
and would be down that night. The news in its unofficial shape 
was not credited by the garrison. Major Anderson thought that 
Lieutenant-General Scott would not send troops except by a ves- 
sel of war, and in consequence no especial arrangements were 
made nor orders given, in anticipation of such a contingency; 
while at the same time the cheering which was distinctly heard 
from Fort Johnson and at Cummings Point convinced the garrison 
of Fort Sumter that something unusual was anticipated. 

At 6 o'clock on the morning of the 9th of January the writer 
was aroused by the announcement that the Carolinians were firing 
from Morris Island upon a vessel bearing the national flag, that was 
attempting to enter the harbor. He went at once to the parapet at 
the southeast angle of the work. A large steamer was coming in 
with the flag flying at her peak. Major Anderson, who had been 
aroused by Captain Doubleday upon the firing of the first gun 
from the battery, had given orders to beat the long roll, and the 
men had fallen in, had reached the parapet and had manned the 
guns. Three 24-pounders and one 8-inch seacoast howitzer were 
the only guns mounted on the gorge of the work, and no ammu- 
nition had yet been served to them. The grape with which they 
had been loaded was taken out and they were loaded with solid shot. 
They were of the lighter calibre, and, encumbering the parade, 
they had been mounted on the parapet to clear the way for the 
heavier guns, the main object of the garrison being to transfer the 



* Minutes of the Executive Council, 



I 86 THE GENESl:^ OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

large amount of ordnance material, besides the provisions and 
stores which obstructed the entrances to the work, to the 
interior, and to prepare at once to resist an assault which the 
exposed and unfinished condition of the fort too evidently 
invited. All was soon in readiness, and the gunner (Oakes) stood 
with the lanyard in his hand at the 8-inch seacoast howitzer and 
ready for the word. The battery was nearly i,ooo or 2,000 yards 
distant, and had been built under a sand-hill wholly safe from 
any direct shots and almost secure from shells, owing to the 
difficulty of exploding a shell over a fixed point. Major 
Anderson, with Lieutenants Davis and Meade and the writer, was 
in the angle of the parapet, the latter with his glass upon the 
steamer and reporting her movements. MajorAnderson was excited 
and uncertain what to do. The steamer, in the midst of the fire 
upon her, had hoisted and lowered a large national flag to her 
fore, when the writer reported to Major Anderson that she was 
making signals to the fort. Major Anderson turned to his flag, 
but the halliards had become twisted about the staff and the flag 
could not be used. Fort Moultrie had now opened, when 
Lieutenant Davis called the attention of Major Anderson to the 
fact, and suggested that it was upon that fort that our fire should 
be opened, and that to fire upon the battery would be useless. 
Major Anderson seemed for a moment to acquiesce, and directed 
Lieutenant Davis to go down to the lower tier, to take command 
of a battery of two 42-pounders which were mounted in the angle 
and which bore on Fort Moultrie, and to await his orders. 

Lieutenant Meade earnestly advised that fire should not be 
opened at all, as it would at once initiate civil war, and that the 
Governor would probably repudiate the act. Meantime, the Star 
of the West had passed the battery, when Moultrie opening upon 
her, she turned and left the harbor. Seeing her turn. Major 
Anderson said, " Hold on; do not fire. I will wait. Let the 
men go to their quarters, leaving two at each gun — I wish to see 
the officers at my quarters."* 



• Personal notes. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Council of the officers upon the firing upon the Star of the West — Their indi- 
vidual opinions — Major Anderson writes to the Governor — His threat to 
close the harbor to all vessels — Sends Lieutenant Hall, under a white flag, 
with letter to Governor — Scenes in Charleston— Reply of (Governor, who 
avows the act— Council of officers reconvened — Anderson determines to 
send messenger to Washington — Lieutenant Talbot and the writer his 
messengers to Governor informing him of his change of purpose — Safe- 
guard given to Talbot through the State — Governor sends messengers to 
Major Anderson, asking delivery of Fort Sumter to State — Interview — 
Governor's letter — Officers,' reassembled in Council, reject the demand of 
Governor — Statement of messenger — Reply of Anderson to his letter — 
Upon Anderson's suggestion, matter referred to Washington — Lieutenant 
Hall selected as messenger by Anderson, Hon. J. W. Hayne by the Gov- 
ernor — His special instructions — Departs for Washington. 

The officers assembled in Major Anderson's quarters at once. 
All were present. The sight they had just seen seemed to 
impress each one individually. The flag of the country had been 
fired upon under the very guns of their work, and no helping 
hand had been extended. Major Anderson stated to them that 
he had called them together to hear their views in relation to the 
act of the State, and to say to them that he proposed to close the 
harbor with his guns, and to fire upon any vessel that might 
attempt to enter.* He desired to receive any recommendations 
they might have to make. He began with asking the junior officer, 
Lieutenant Hall, who was his adjutant. Lieutenant Hall stated 
that he thought the harbor should be closed by our guns. Lieu- 
tenant Meade, of the Engineer Department, thought that we 
should wait: to close the harbor would be an act of war; that 
we would thus inaugurate civil war in the country, and as we had 
been directed to act upon the defensive strictly, we had no right 
to take such a step. Lieutenant Snyder was for immediate action; 
he was in favor of closing the harbor to all vessels and firing upon 
all steamboats that were engaged in carrying reinforcements. 
Lieutenant Davis thought that we should wait, and send to the 



* Personal ngtes. 

?87 



I 88 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Governor, informing him of what had occurred, and ask if he 
avowed the act. If he sanctioned it we were then to close the 
harbor with our guns. Captain Seymour's opinion not recorded. 
Captain Doubleday advised immediate action. He thought that 
every day's delay would add to the strength of their position and 
that they would finally shell the fort. Assistant Surgeon Craw- 
ford thought that as the battery was not fired upon when il 
opened upon the ship, we had suffered the opportunity to go bj 
for immediate action, and that it would be better now to send to 
the Governor and let him know our determination. Major 
Anderson acquiesced in the suggestion of the officers, that the 
Governor should be advised of the course he proposed to take in 
case the action of his subordinates in firing upon the ship should be 
avowed by him, and he at once addressed the lollowing despatch to 
the Governor of the State: 

Fort Sumter, South Carolina, January 9, z86i. 

" Sir : Two of your batteries fired this morning upon an 
unarmed vessel bearing the flag of my Government. As I have 
not been notified that war has been declared by South Carolina 
against the Government of the United States, I cannot but think 
that this hostile act was committed without your sanction or 
authority. Under that hope, and that alone, did 1 refrain from 
opening fire upon your batteries. I have therefore respectfully 
to ask whether the above-mentioned act, one I believe without a 
parallel in the history of our country or of any other civilized 
government, was committed in obedience to your instructions, and 
to notify you, if it be not disclaimed, that I must regard it as an 
act of war, and that I shall not, after a reasonable time for the 
return of my messenger, permit any vessel to pass within range of 
the guns in my fort. In order to save, as far as lies within my 
power, the shedding of blood, I beg that you will have due notice 
of this, my decision, given to all concerned. Hoping, however, 
that your answer may be such as will justify a further continuance 
of forbearance upon my part, I have the honor to be, 
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
" Robert Anderson, 
^^ Major First Artillery, Com?nanding. 

" To His Excellency the Governor of South Carolina." 

This despatch was submitted by Major Anderson to a council 
of his officers, and approved of by them, with the insertion of the 
clause that he would await a reasonable time for the return of his 
messenger before opening fire, which was not part of the original 



GOVERNOR REPLIES TO MAJOR ANDERSON. 1S9 

despatch. The delivery of the despatch was entrusted to Lieu- 
tenant Hall, who in full uniform and under a white flag bore it 
to Charleston. Upon landing, he was surrounded by a crowd of 
citizens. Making his way with difificulty through them and fol- 
lowed by them, he finally found the Governor in council at his 
office. At the door he met an aide, who invited him to enter. He 
declined, but requested that his card be taken to the Governor, 
with the statement that he had come under a white flag to see 
him in person. The council was dissolved, and he was introduced 
to the Governor. In the meantime, a report had been spread 
through the city that the object of Lieutenant Hall's visit was to 
announce that the city would be bombarded, and statements to 
that effect were posted upon the bulletins. 

The boat's crew were at once beseiged by the crowd, but were 
ordered to hold no communication with any one. After reading 
the communication of Major Anderson, the Governor called his 
Cabinet together and submitted the letter to them. After some 
delay an answer to the communication was handed to Lieutenant 
Hall by Governor Pickens in person. As a matter of prudence, 
in the excited state of the people. Lieutenant Hall was returned 
to his boat by carriage, accompanied by one of the aides of the 
Governor and an escort. 

The reply of the Governor was clear and decided. He infers 
that Major Anderson had not been informed fully of the " precise 
relations " which existed between the General Government and 
the State of South Carolina. That the State had seceded and had 
resumed all of her delegated powers, and had communicated the 
fact officially to the Government, and that the right thus exercised 
did not now admit of discussion. That it was understood by the 
President that the sending of any reinforcements to the troops in 
the harbor would be regarded, equally with any change in the 
occupation of those forts, as an act of hostility. That the occu- 
pancy of Fort Sumter had been regarded as the first act of 
positive hostility committed by the troops of the United States 
within the limits of the State, and that it occasioned the termina- 
tion of the negotiations then pending at Washington. The 
attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter or to retake the other forts 
which were abandoned, could only be considered by the authori- 
ties as an attempt to coerce the State by armed force, and to repel 
such an attempt was only "too plainly its duty." Special agents 



IQO 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



had been stationed off the bar to warn all approaching vessels 
having troops on board to reinforce the forts not to enter this 
harbor, and special orders had been communicated to the officers 
in command not to open fire upon such vessels " until a shot 
thrown across their bows should warn them of the prohibition of 
the State." "Under these circumstances," said he, "///<? Star of 
the West, it is understood, this morning attempted to enter this 
harbor with troops on board, and having been notified that she 
could not enter, was fired into. The act is perfectly justified by 
me." He informs Major Anderson, also, that his position in the 
harbor had been tolerated by the authorities; that while the act he 
complained of was in perfect consistency with the rights of the State, 
the course he proposed to follow was only reconcilable with "that 
of imposing upon the State the condition of a conquered province." 

This communication was read in the presence of the officers, 
who thought it rather an extraordinary answer to the note of 
Major Anderson. It defined, however, so clearly the position 
of the Governor, that the immediate commencement of hostili- 
ties was anticipated. Indeed, it now seemed that there was but 
one course to pursue. 

Shortly afterward, however, Major Anderson again called the 
officers together and stated to them that he had, upon reflection, 
determined that it was but right to send a messenger to Wash- 
ington, and he desired to hear the opinion of the officers upon 
the subject. It was generally conceded that it would be but 
right, although some of the officers thought that we should 
at once pursue the course that we had laid down. Lieutenant 
Talbot was selected by Major Anderson to go to Washington, 
and, in advance, to bear the following letter to the Governor. 

" Headquarters, Fort Sumter, S. C, 

January 9, 1861. 
" To His Excellency F. W. Pickens, 

" Governor of the State of South Carolina. 
" Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
communication of to-day, and to say that, under the circum- 
stances, I have deemed it proper to refer the whole matter to my 
Government and that I intend deferring the course indicated in 
my note of this morning, until the arrival from Washington of 
the instructions I may receive. I have the honor, also, to 
express a hope that no obstructions will be placed in the way of, 
and that you will do me the favor to afford every facility to, the 



MESStNGER SENT TO IVASHINGTuN. 



191 



departure and return of the bearer, Lieutenant T. Talbot, United 
States Army, who has been directed to make the journey. 
" I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

(Signed) " Robert Anderson, 

Major U. S. A., commanding." 

Later in the day, Lieutenant Talbot, in citizen's dress, accom- 
panied by the writer in uniform, left the work under a white flag 
and proceeded to Charleston. Upon arriving in Charleston, they 
were followed by a crowd to the Charleston Hotel, where it was 
thought that the Governor was to be found. A card was sent, 
when, after a long delay, an aide-de-camp of the Governor con- 
ducted the officers to the executive office, where the Governor 
was engaged in session with his Cabinet, and where, apparently 
much business was being transacted. The letter of Major Ander- 
son was handed by Lieutenant Talbot to the Governor, who, upon 
reading it, expressed his gratification at receiving it, that he was 
"very glad indeed," and that of course Lieutenant Talbot could 
go to Washington, and that he would afford him every facility. 
From the marked courtesy shown by the Governor and those 
around him, as well as from the expressions used in the conver- 
sation that ensued, it was inferred by the officers who carried the 
letter, that the suspension of his decision to open fire upon the 
shipping, and his determination to submit the matter to his Gov- 
ernment upon the part of Major Anderson, was gratifying to the 
authorities of the State. The officers were then presented to the 
members of the Cabinet. The Governor then gave a safeguard 
to Lieutenant Talbot to proceed through the State, and also a 
permit to Assistant Surgeon Crawford to obtain the mail matter 
for the fort, the transmission of which had been prohibited. The 
officers returned to the boat accompanied by one of the aides of 
the Governor in a carriage, to avoid the crowd. Some seventy or 
eighty persons had collected at the boat. No opposition was made 
to the removal of Lieutenant Talbot's baggage to the station, and 
the boat returned to the fort. 

The threat of Major Anderson to close the harbor to all vessels 
had brought the possibility of his being able to execute that threat 
so plainly before the State authorities that it was determined to 
renew the demand upon him for the delivery of Fort Sumter to 
the authorities of the State. Accordingly, shortly after noon on 
the nth of January, the same day upon which the hulks of four 



192 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



vessels were sunk across the channel at the entrance of the harbor, 
a small steamer under a white flag was seen approaching the work. 
She grounded near the fort, when, upon being hailed, she replied 
" Messenger from the Governor." A boat was sent to her and 
brought Judge A. G. Magrath, the Secretary of State of South 
Carolina, and General D. F. Jamison, the State Secretary of 
War, messengers from the Governor to Major Anderson. They 
were met by Major Anderson at the wharf and conducted by hmi 
into the room of the officer of the guard, within the sally-port of 
the work, where they remained for some time in close consulta- 
tion, when Captain Doubleday, Captain Seymour and Captain 
Foster were called into the room. After some conversation the 
rest of the officers were sent for as a council of war, and to them 
was submitted the letter of the Governor. It was as follows: 

" State of South Carolina, Executive Office, 
"Charleston, January 11, 1861 
" To Major Anderson, 

*' Commanding Fort Sumter. 
" Sir: I have thought proper, under all the circumstances of 
the peculiar state of public affairs in the country at present, M 
appoint the Hon. A. G. Magrath and General D. F. Jamison, both 
members of the Executive Council and of the highest position m 
the State, to present to you considerations of the gravest public 
character, and of the deepest interest to all who deprecate the 
improper waste of life, to induce the delivery of Fort Sumter to 
the constituted authorities of the State of South Carolina, with a 
pledge on its part to account for such public property as is under 
your charge. 

" Your obedient servant, 

(Signed) " F. W. Pickens." 

The conversation in the guard-room was general, and with 
special reference to the consideration involved in the proposition 
of the Governor. Judge Magrath was the principal speaker. He 
set forth the reasons for the demand in an argument of great force 
from the standpoint assumed by the State. Upon the assem- 
bling of the officers, the question was submitted to Major Ander- 
son, " Shall we accede to the demand of the Governor, or shall 
we not ? " when it was unanimously decided that the demand of 
the Governor should not be acceded to under any circumstances. 
Lieutenant Meade, the junior officer, suggested that, as a mes- 
senger had been sent to Washington, it would be proper to await 



DELIVERY OF THE FORT DEMANDED. \ 93 

his return, and in this view all the officers coincided. The officers 
then separated, after some conversation, and returned to the room 
of the officer of the guard, where a long conversation ensued with 
the messengers from the Governor. A marked impression was 
made upon them by the statements made. They were told that 
the Government at Washington was almost dissolved, that a 
Senator, from his seat m the Senate, had asked who was de facto 
Secretary of War,* and that the President had denied that rein- 
forcements had been sent to us by his authority; that Mississippi 
had left the Union, and that all Virginia was in a blaze; that Sena- 
tor Davis, in taking leave of the Senate, had delivered a speech 
which had made the most profound impression in the country. In 
reference to the fort, General Jamison stated that there were 
20,000 men m the State that were ready to come and would come 
down and take them, and that they would tear the fort to pieces 
with their fingers, and that the waters of the harbor would be 
stained with blood ; and that the people in the interior could hardly 
be restrained from coming down now. Major Anderson now 
re-entered the room, and stated that he would not be able to com- 
ply with the request of the Governor. General Jamison had 
remarked that he regretted it very much, as God only knew what 
the consequences would be, when Judge Magrath then said, 
deliberately and with feeling: " I desire you to understand. Major 
Anderson, that it is not an alternative that is offered to you by 
the Governor, it is not peace or war that he offers in making this 
communication to you: it is done more to give you an oppor- 
tunity, after understanding all the circumstances, to prevent blood- 
shed."! Major Anderson at once replied: "I am very glad to 
know this; I did not so understand it; but I cannot do what 
belongs to the Government to do. The demand must be made 
upon them, and I appeal to you as a Christian, as a man, and as a 
fellow-countryman, to do all that you can to prevent an appeal to 
arms. I do not say as a soldier, for my duty is plain in that 
respect. Let it be the last and not the first resort. Why not 
exhaust diplomacy, as on other matters .^ I assure you that I am 
ready to assist you in every way in my power to settle the matter 
peaceably. I will send an officer with a messenger from the 



* Senator Slidell. 
t Personal notes. 



194 ^-^^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Governor to Washington. I will do anything that is possible and 
honorable to do to prevent an appeal to arms." An impressive 
silence followed, when the messengers shortly afterward took 
their leave. The action of the Governor was considered by Major 
Anderson as a demand upon him for the surrender of the fort. 
Although he had received instructions as to his course should he 
be attacked in his position — which, however, he had reported as 
secure — he deemed it proper to transfer the responsibility of any 
decision to Washington, and he prepared and handed to the mes- 
sengers of the Governor the following letter as they were leaving 
the work: 

Headquarters, Fort Sumter, S. C, 

January ii, 1861. 
" To His Excellency F. W. Pickens, 
*' Governor of South Carolina^ 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
demand for the surrender of this fort to the authorities in South 
Carolina, and to say in reply that the demand is one with which 
I cannot comply. Your Excellency knows that I have recently 
sent a messenger to Washington, and that it will be impossible for 
me to receive an answer to my despatch forwarded by him, at an 
earlier date than next Monday. What the character of my 
instructions may be, I cannot foresee. 

Should your Excellency deem fit, prior to a resort to arms, to 
refer this matter to Washington, it would afford me the smcerest 
pleasure to depute one of my officers to accompany any messen- 
ger you may deem proper to be the bearer of your demand. 
Hoping to God that in this and all other matters in which the 
honor, welfare and life of our fellow-countrymen are concerned, 
we shall so act as to meet His approval, and deeply regretting 
that you have made a demand with which I cannot comply, 
" I have the honor to be, with the highest regard, 
'* Your obedient servant, 

"Robert Anderson, 
" Major U. S. Artny, Conwianding." 

Before leaving the fort General Jamison stated to the writer 
that the officers in the fort could have no idea of the intense 
feeling animating all classes in the State, and that he daily 
received offers of service from all quarters offering to serve the 
State in the humblest capacity. Upon the return of the messen- 
gers to Charleston, with a report of their mission and the decision 
and proposition of Major Anderson, the Governor at once deter- 
mined to acquiesce in the latter, and early on the morning of the 



DEMAND RENEWED AT WASHINGTON. 



195 



12th a boat under a white flag was again seen approaching the 
work. An aide of the Governor, accompanied by Mr. R. N. Gour- 
din, had come to say that the Governor had determined to send 
a messenger to Washington with the officers selected by Major 
Anderson. Lieutenant Hall was selected, and in a short time 
was in readiness. His instructions were not only in writing, but 
he was charged to lay before the Government a detailed narrative 
of the events that had transpired. 

Meantime, the Governor of the State, having determined to 
send a messenger to accompany Lieutenant Hall to Washing- 
ton, selected the Hon. Isaac W. Hayne, the Attorney-General of 
the State, and on January 1 1 addressed a communication to the 
President. He stated that he regarded the possession of Fort 
Sumter by the troops of the United States under the command 
of Major Anderson, " as not consistent with the dignity or safety 
of the State of South Carolina." That he had that day 
addressed a communication to Major Anderson to obtain posses- 
sion of the forts; that Major Anderson had informed him that he 
had no authority to comply with his request, and had referred his 
demand to the President ; that he, the Governor, had determined 
to send to the President the Hon. Isaac W. Hayne, the Attorney- 
General of the State, and had instructed him to demand the 
delivery of Fort Sumter to the State. He states also, that both 
his previous demands of Major Anderson and the one he now 
makes of the President are suggested in view of his earnest desire 
to avoid blooc shed, which a persistence in the retention of the 
fort would cause, and which would be unavailing to secure that 
possession to the Government. In the demand which he now 
made, he would secure for the State the satisfaction of having 
exhausted every attempt to avoid the unhappy consequences, if 
such should ensue. The envoy was also authorized to pledge the 
State to an accountability for the valuation of the public property 
of the United States within Fort Sumter, when the relations of the 
State with the United States should be adjusted. 

The special instructions to the envoy were communicated to 
him by the Secretary of State of South Carolina from the 
"Executive Office, State Department, Charleston, January 12, 
1861." The demand upon the President now made was stated. 
The interruption of the negotiations authorized by the Conven- 
tion, empowering its Commissioners to enter into negotiations 



Ig6 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

with the General Government for the delivery of forts and other 
real estate within the limits of South Carolina, was referred to; and 
that this interruption left all matters connected with Fort Sumter 
and the United States troops in the State affected by the fact 
" that the continued possession of the fort was not consistent 
with the dignity or safety of the State, and that an attempt to 
reinforce the fort would be resisted. A state of hostilities had, in 
consequence, arisen and the State placed in a condition of 
defense, and that while she was preparing, an attempt was made 
to reinforce Fort Sumter and repelled." " You are now instructed 
to proceed to Washington, and there, in the name of the Governor 
of the State of South Carolina, inquire of the President of the 
United States whether it was by his order that troops of the 
United States were sent into the harbor of Charleston to rein- 
force Fort Sumter. If he avows that order, you will then inquire 
whether he asserts a right to introduce troops of the United 
States within the limits of this State, to occupy Fort Sumter, and 
you will, in case of his avowal, inform him that neither will be 
permitted, and either will be regarded as his declaration of war 
against the State of South Carolina." 

The demand of the Governor upon him having been referred 
by Major Anderson to the Government, the envoy was instructed 
to demand from the President the withdrawal of the troops of the 
United States from Fort Sumter and the delivery of that work to 
the State. 

The question of property was not to be allowed to embarrass 
the assertion of the political right of the State to the possession 
of the fort. That possession was alone consistent with the dignity 
and safety of the State, but it was not inconsistent with a right 
to compensation in money upon the part of another Government, 
provided that the claim of such Government was a just one; but 
that the possession of Fort Sumter could not be compensated by 
any consideration of any kind from the Government, when that 
possession was " invasive of the dignity " and affected the safety 
of the State, nor could it now become a matter of discussion or 
negotiation. The envoy was therefore directed to require from 
the President a "positive and distinct answer" to his demand for 
the delivery of the fort. He was authorized, also, to adjust all 
matters susceptible of valuation in money, upon the principles of 
equity and justice always recognized by independent nations. 



MESSENGERS REACH WA SUING TON. 



197 



The President was to be warned that an attempt to continue the 
possession of Fort Sumter, would "inevitably " lead to a bloody 
issue, with but one conclusion; that the citizens of the State 
recognized it as a duty to shed their blood in defense of their 
rights, and that the Governor in such a cause would feel that his 
obligation to the State would " justify the sacrifice necessary to 
secure that end." And the letter concludes with the statement 
" that the Governor does not desire to remind the President of 
the responsibilities which are upon him." 

The envoy of the Governor, Mr. Hayne, and the messenger 
of Major Anderson, Lieutenant Hall, left at once for Washing- 
ton, where they arrived on the evening of the 12th of January. 



CHAPTER XVL 

Preparations for defense actively pushed on — Guns mounted — Anderson reports 
fifty-one guns in position on 2ist January — Heavy Columbiads mounted 
as mortars on the parade — Scarcity of material felt — Arrangements made 
to receive and transmit the mails — Four hulks of vessels sunk in the ship 
channel — Want of fresh provisions— State Secretary of War sends supply 
voluntarily — Provisions returned by Anderson — Erroneous statements 
made — Non payment of contractor, cause of interruption of supply — 
Deficiency in small-stores — Many vi'orkmen leave the fort -Efforts to dis- 
satisfy those who remained— Return of Lieutenant Talbot from Washing- 
ton — Approbation of the ofificials encom-ages the men — Anderson's forbear- 
ance to fire upon Star of the West battery fully approved by the President 
— Letter of Secretary of War Holt — Not the purpose of the Government 
to reinforce him at present —If necessary they would be sent upon his 
application — Presence of the women and children embarrass the garrison 
— Anderson applies for permission from the Governor to send them to the 
North — Permission granted— Women and children depart — Relations 
between the Government and the State more clearly defined — Governor 
assembles an Ordnance Board — Objections made - Recommendations, lines 
for defense — Sites for batteries suggested — Great activity displayed— Light- 
house at Morris Island removed— Anderson's caution against attempt of 
friends to throw in supplies — Progress of enemy's work reported by 
Captain Foster— Anderson reports his diminished supplies — The envoy of 
the Governor opens negotiations with the Government. 

Preparations for the defense of the fort were pushed on vig- 
orously under the immediate superintendence of Major Ander- 
son himself. The armament was the most important interest. 
Heavy guns, unmounted, were encumbering the parade. These 
had to be raised to the parapet, their gun-carriages refitted, and 
the guns mounted en barbette and on the lower tier. The neces- 
sary tackle for hoisting, and the proper implements for manoeuv- 
ring them had to be prepared. The means and materials at the 
disposition of the garrison for this purpose were limited, and in 
some instances wanting, but the men worked under the proper 
officers with the greatest energy, so that on the 21st of January 
Major Anderson was enabled to report to his Government that he 
had then fifty-one guns m position; twenty- four were en barbette. 



GUNS MOUNTED IN SUMTER. 



199 



including six 8 inch Columbiads and five 8-inch seacoast howitzers 
while in the lower tier there were twenty-four 32 and 42 pounders 
bearing upon Fort Johnson, Fort Moultrie and the channel. 
Three lo-inch Columbiads lay upon the parade, it being impossi- 
ble to raise them to their proper positions by any means at the 
disposal of the garrison. Platforms were prepared, and these 
heavy guns were mounted by the 5th of February, as mortars, to 
bear upon Morris Island, Fort Moultrie and the city of Charles- 
ton. At the same time, four 8-inch seacoast howitzers were 




HOISTING GUNS ON THE PARAPET, FORT SUMTER. 



planted in the area of the parade of the work, to bear upon 
Morris Island. A large number of 8-inch shell were filled and 
friction-tubes inserted. Long lanyards were attached to them. 
They were to be dropped from the parapet in case of assault, and 
exploded by the firing of the friction-tubes upon the tension of 
the lanyard. Cartridges were prepared for the Columbiads, and, 
owing to a want of the proper material, the flannel shirts in the 
Quartermaster's Department were used for bags. Every 
practical means to strengthen the position was adopted. The 



200 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

main gate was reinforced by a solid wall of masonry, three feet 
in thickness, a narrow passage being left for egress from the 
work, as well as to serve as an embrasure for an 8-inch howitzer, 
which had been placed in position at the entrance, and whose 
direct fire would sweep the wharf. Two guns were mounted out- 
side to the right and left of the sally port, and lanyards to 
fire them brought inside. Their fire commanded the base of 
the gorge wall. The filling up of the embrasures on the second 
tier was continued. There being no flanking defenses, " Machi- 
couli galleries" were made at the suggestion of Captain 
Doubleday and run out, overhanging the angles of the fort to 
command the faces of the work. They were prepared for 
musketry fire and for the dropping of shells. The loop-holes 
for musketry in the gorge wall were partially filled up. From 
the smallness of his force, and the fact that the lower tier was 
the weakest point, Major Anderson determined to fill up some 
of the embrasures on that tier, where he had not sufficient 
strength to man his guns, to close up by brick masonry the em- 
brasures not needed, and to reduce the effective battery on this 
tier to three guns to each angle. The scarcity of necessary 
material began now to be felt. All of the cement and bricks had 
been used ; the scarcity of the fuel forbade the burning of 
lime, and the substitution of dry stones was resorted to. The 
work of defense was pushed on uninterruptedly under the direc- 
tion of the able and energetic engineer officers and their force, 
who alone mounted all the guns and lent their willing aid and 
assistance to every measure of defense. The arrangement of the 
disposable force gave but eight men only to each face and flank, 
with a general reserve of but twenty men. By the 14th of January, 
an arrangement was entered into in regard to the mails for the 
fort, the transmission of which had been suspended. An exchange 
was to take place at Fort Johnson, in order to avoid any risk of 
a collision between the boat's crew and ill-disposed persons in the 
city. Owing to the severity of the weather, the whole command 
were now quartered in the officers' quarters, which were com- 
pleted. 

Early on the nth of January a small steamer was seen off the 
ship channel near Morris Island towing the hulks of four vessels. 
They were loaded with stone. After considerable movement, as 
if uncertain v/here to locate them, she finally anchored them in a 



THE QUESTION OF FRESFT PROVISIONS. 2OI 

line across the mouth of the channel near the bar and sank them 
one by one. This was to close the channel to all vessels. The 
hulks were towed in from without the harbor. 

The firing upon the Star of the West was still the subject of 
earnest discussion among the officers, some of whom thought that, 
in agreeing to await the return of the messenger, an error of 
judgment had been committed, as the State would go on actively 
with her preparations, which she did. The communication of 
the Secretary of War of the loth of January, commending the 
course of Major Anderson, had greatly encouraged him as 
well as his command. He felt deeply the perplexing circum- 
stances under which he found himself, and he reported to 
the Government on the 29th of January that everything 
around him showed it to be the determination of the people 
to bring on a collision with the General Government. No 
fresh provisions had been permitted to come to the fort, 
nor was he allowed to procure his usual supplies in Charleston. 
This prohibition had been made the subject of remonstrance at 
Washington, and earnest representation had been made by prom- 
inent Southern men to the Governor, who determined, finally, 
to permit the transmission of such supplies. On the 9th of 
January General Jamison, the State Secretary of War, informed 
Major Anderson that the Government had directed that an ofificer 
of the State should procure and carry over to him, with his mails, 
such supplies of meats and vegetables as he might require. 

Major Anderson replied that he was at a loss to understand 
the Governor's action, as he had made no representation that he 
was in need of such supplies; that the manner in which a military 
post was supplied was prescribed by law; and if he was allowed to 
procure his supplies by contract, as he had been in the habit of 
doing, and as it was his " right " to do, he would go on, but if the 
permission was "founded on courtesy and civility," he was com- 
pelled to decline it; and he hopes also that the course he deemed 
proper to pursue in the matter would allay the "excitement" 
which, he inferred from the papers, was growing in the city. 
Meantime, without waiting for a reply from Major Anderson, the 
Quartermaster-General of the State, in accordance with the orders 
of the Secretary of War of the State, sent down in connection 
with the mail on the morning of the 19th, a quantity of "fresh 
jpeat and vegetables to last the garrison of Fort Sumter for forty- 



202 THE GENjLSIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

eii^ht hours," informing Major Anderson that he would purchase 
and take down every day such provisions from the city market as 
he might indicate. The boat arrived at the fort at noon on the 
2oth. Its arrival and the sight of fresh provisions created an ex- 
citement among the men, who had been without such supplies 
since the 26th of December. The provisions were seized and 
borne rapidly to the kitchen, when the order of Major Anderson 
was received to return them to the boat, as he had declined to 
receive them. Without complaint or hesitation they were returned. 
On the 2 1 st Major Anderson reported the facts to his Government, 
with the statement that so many acts of harshness and incivility 
had occurred since his removal from Fort Moultrie, which he had 
not deemed it proper to notice or report, that he could not accept 
of any civility which might be considered as a favor or an act of 
charity. 

On the 2ist General Jamison replied that "the Governor was 
influenced solely by considerations of courtesy;" that if he had 
no other reasons he would have been moved by prudential reasons 
for the safety of Major Anderson's "people" in preventing a col- 
lision; that the Governor was indifferent to the manner in which 
the supplies were procured, provided that they were carried over 
under an officer of the State. On the 24th a letter was accordingly 
written, by Major Anderson's direction, to the former contractor, 
renewing the terms of the old contract and requesting that it 
should go at once into effect, and specifying at the same time the 
supplies that he required. Time passed and the contractor made 
no reply; and Major Anderson in his report to the Government of 
the 31st of January presumed that the contractor dared not send 
any provisions for fear that he would be " regarded as a traitor to 
South Carolina for furnishing comfort and aid to her enemies." 

On that day, however. Major Anderson had renewed his appli- 
cation through a member of the Convention, Mr. Gourdin, who 
informed him that the Governor was desirous that he should receive 
the supplies regularly, " and thought that there could be no diffi- 
culty in reference to groceries also." 

The action of Major Anderson was largely influenced by 
erroneous statements made in regard to his being daily in receipt 
of these supplies. The principal journal in Charleston had pub- 
lished a statement on the 19th of January that provisions were 
daily sent to the fort, and in his reply to the Southern Senators 



CONTRACT FOR FRESH PROVISIONS RENEWED. 



203 



in Washington who, on the 15th of January, had addressed to 
Colonel Hayne a letter suggesting that Major Anderson should 
be allowed to obtain these supplies, he had answered: " Major 
Anderson and his command, let me assure you, do now obtain all 
necessary supplies of food (including fresh meat and vegetables), 
and I believe fuel and water." 

In his report of the 27th of January to his Government, Major 
Anderson referred to the " false reports " originating ** in Charles- 
ton and elsewhere " about him, and that it was " apparent enough" 
that the object of one of them — which was that he was gettmg 
fresh provisions from the Charleston market — was to show that 
they were treating him courteously, " which was not a fact," and 
that up to that moment " he had not derived the least advantage 
from the Charleston markets." 

The reason for the action of the contractor was simply that he 
had not been paid for seven months. His account was at that time 
over $500, and he feared, from the condition of things, that 
all relations between the fort and the city might be at any 
moment interrupted and his money lost. Lieutenant Hall 
had returned from Washington, neglecting to bring with him 
a treasury draft for his Department. The contractor was after- 
ward paid, when he renewed his contract and resumed his dealings 
with the fort. 

The result of the hasty movement from Fort Moultrie began 
already to show itself in the deficiencies in the small stores. 
Upon the departure of Lieutenant Hall to Washington the writer was 
directed to assume the duties of quartermaster and commissary 
of the post temporarily, during the absence of that officer. An 
inspection and inventory of the stores on hand on the 15th of 
January showed a limited supply of some of the articles of the 
ration, that instead of a six months' supply there was scarcely 
four, and that it would be necessary to place the command upon 
half-rations of coffee and sugar, and to deprive the officers 
temporarily altogether. There were neither candles nor soap for 
issue, and but half a barrel of salt, and the batteries and guard 
were lighted by using the oil of the light-house, in bowls in which 
wicking was placed and a taper made. 

Strict guards were placed over the batteries, which were 
examined at every relief during the night under the immediate 
direction of the officer of the day. The workmen of the Engineer 



204 ^^^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Department were affected by the firing upon the Star of the 
IVcsi and the fear of an approaching conflict, and many left, 
largely reducing the force. This, however, did not continue, and 
forty-three remained, working with alacrity at any work required 
of them, almost exclusively mounting all of the guns and remain- 
ing faithful and enthusiastic in the discharge of their duty till the 
last. Efforts were made to dissatisfy them, as well as the 
soldiers, whenever opportunity offered ; and various reports, many 
of them wholly without foundation, were published and circulated. 
It was reported that the men were retained in Fort Sumter by 
force, and had attempted to escape from the windows ; it was also 
reported that a boat from Fort Sumter, in making a reconnoissance 
of a battery on Morris Island, had been fired into and one man 
wounded. On the 19th Lieutenant Davis, who had gone to town 
in charge of four enlisted men who had been summoned by the 
civil court as witnesses, was informed that his men had become 
seditious and were threatening him, and that he ought to arm 
himself, as the men intended to desert. Arms were offered to 
Lieutenant Davis, which he declined. On the 27th, the men who 
went for the mail to Fort Johnson, in pursuance of the arrange- 
ment made, were rudely treated, nothing but the mail was allowed 
to go, and a small quantity of tobacco which had been bought 
with money sent by the foreman was taken away, and no com- 
munication with the men allowed. Inside, the work rapidly pro- 
gressed. As the heavier guns were mounted, experimental firing 
to determine the range was commenced, and continued from time 
to time with satisfactory results. The men of the command and 
the workmen had been lodged in the completed officers' quarters, 
and were thus protected from the constant rain and fogs that pre- 
vailed during the month of January, and which permitted the 
necessary work to go on without observation. 

Meantime, Lieutenant Talbot, who after the firing upon the 
Star of the West had been sent to Washington by Major Ander- 
son, returned to the fort on the 19th of January, bringing des- 
patches to Major Anderson and to Governor Pickens. The news 
that he brought was greatly encouraging to the garrison : Major 
Anderson's course was approved by the Secretary of War and the 
Cabinet, and by Union men generally. The different departments 
all applauded the course taken by Major Anderson, and the 
administration would support him, 



LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 



The following is the letter of the Secretary of War: 



205 



"War Department, January 16, 1861. 
" Major Robert Anderson, 

'■'■ First Artillery, Coytwianding Fort Smnter. 

^^ Sir: Your dispatch No. 17, covering your correspondence 
with the Governor of South Carolina, has been received from the 
hand of Lieutenant Talbot. You rightly designate the firing into 
the Star of the West as " an act of war," and one which was 
actually committed without the slightest provocation. Had their 
act been perpetrated by a foreign nation, it would have been your 
imperative duty to have resented it with the whole force of your 
batteries. As, however, it was the work of the Government of 
South Carolina, which is a member of this confederacy, and was 
prompted by the passions of a highly-inflamed population of citi- 
zens of the United States, your forbearance to return the fire is 
fully approved by the President. Unfortunately, the Government 
had not been able to make known to you that the Star of the 
West had sailed from New York for your relief, and hence, when 
she made her appearance in the harbor of Charleston, you did not 
feel the force of the obligation to protect her approach as you 
would naturally have done had this information reached you. 

" Your late dispatches, as well as the very intelligent state- 
ment of Lieutenant Talbot, have relieved the Government of the 
apprehensions recently entertained for your safety. In conse- 
quence, it is not its purpose at present to re-enforce you. The 
attempt to do so would, no doubt, be attended by a collision of 
arms and the effusion of blood — a national calamity which the 
President is most anxious, if possible, to avoid. You will, there- 
fore, report frequently your condition, and the character and 
activity of the preparations, if any, which may be being made for 
an attack upon the fort, or for obstructing the Government in any 
endeavors it may make to strengthen your command. 

" Should your dispatches be of a nature too important to be 
intrusted to the mails, you will convey them by special messen- 
gers. Whenever, in your judgment, additional supplies or re-en- 
forcements are necessary for your safety, or for a successful 
defense of the fort, you w.ll at once communicate the fact to this 
Department, and a prompt and vigorous effort will be made to 
forward them. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"J. Holt." 

In regard to the firing upon the Star of the West, the Secre- 
tary of War, in his despatch of the i6th of January, informs 
Major Anderson that the Government had not been able to make 
known to him that the Star of the West had sailed to his relief, 
and that in consequence he had not felt '* the force of the obliga- 



206 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVH WAR. 

tionto protect her approach" as he would otherwise have done; 
that the firing upon her was an act of war, committed without the 
slightest provocation, and had it been committed by a foreign 
nation his imperative duty would have required him to resent it 
with the whole force of his batteries. As it was, however, " the 
work of the Government of South Carolina, which is a member of 
this Confederacy," and prompted by passions of American citi- 
zens, the Secretary informed him that his forbearance to return 
the fire is fully approved by the President. 

He also says that his late despatches had greatly relieved the 
Government of their apprehensions for his safety. " In conse- 
quence," he says, " it is not their purpose at present to reinforce 
you; that the attempt would be attended with bloodshed — a 
national calamity which the President was most anxious, if possible, 
to avoid. He was to report his condition frequently, and also the 
character and activity of the preparations about him to attack the 
fort or to obstruct the Government in its endeavors to strengthen 
him." And he concludes his despatch by assuring Major Ander- 
son that whenever, in his judgment, additional supplies or rein- 
forcements should be necessary for his safety, or for a successful 
defense of the fort, he should at once communicate the fact, 
" and a prompt and vigorous effort will be made to forward them." 
The reception of this despatch greatly sustained and encouraged 
the garrison. Besides the despatch of January lo, from the same 
authority, it was the only indorsement the garrison had received 
that their course was approved by the Department, and anything 
like definite instructions as to the future furnished for their guid- 
ance. This, in connection with the sentiments of Lieutenant- 
General Scott, which were announced to the men at parade, and 
which were received with enthusiasm by them, greatly encouraged 
the garrison, who renewed their work with increased energy and 
vigor. 

The presence of so large a number of women and children, 
besides drawing largely upon his supplies, embarrassed Major 
Anderson in carrying on the defensive preparation of his work; 
and in view of possible hostilities, he determined to send them 
to the North. Accordingly, on the 19th of January, in a com- 
munication to General Jamison, the Secretary of War of the 
State, he asks that, as an act of humanity and great kindness, the 
Governor would permit a New York steamer to transport the 



DEPARTURE OF THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 



207 



women and children of his garrison to New York, that he could not 
furnish them with proper food, and that it was an indulgence 
always granted " even during a siege, in time of actual war." The 
Governor at once expressed his willingness, and offered every 
facility in his power to enable Major Anderson to remove them 
from the fort. An agent of the New York line of steamers was 
permitted to come to Fort Sumter, with whom arrangements were 
concluded, and on the ist of February, forty-two women and 
children were embarked upon a lighter and left the fort for the 
steamer. 

At noon on the 3d the steamer passed under the guns of the 
fort on her way northward. The men had crowded to the parapet, 
and with the consent of Major Anderson one gun was fired as the 
vessel passed — amid the loud cheers of the men — which was an- 
swered from the steamer. The number of women sent on was much 
larger than the legal allowance, but Major Anderson thought that 
under the present excited state of feeling towards his command, it 
would not do to send to the city or to Sullivan's Island any of the 
soldiers' wives or their relatives who had been living with them. The 
men lingered upon the parapet until the vessel was lost to view on 
the horizon, and all felt that the departure of their women and 
children, while relieving the garrison from embarrassment and 
responsibility, did not the less clearly define to them their own 
position. 

While within the fort the work of defense was carried on 
steadily and with energy, the authorities and troops of the State 
were no less active, and works for the defense of the harbor, as 
well as for the ultimate reduction of Fort Sumter, were begun, and 
pushed forward with the greatest industry and vigor. The means 
at their command were crude and inappropriate at this early 
period, their officers and men inexperienced and new, and often 
differing widely in their views, but they worked with an enthusiasm 
and unanimity of purpose that largely compensated for many 
deficiencies and amply sustained them in their purpose until the 
last. 

The retention of Major Anderson and his command at Fort 
Sumter by the Government, its attempt to reinforce and provision 
him, and the open repulse of that attempt had more clearly 
defined the relation existing between the Government and the 
State. The one determined to hold the fort as its property and 



208 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



to maintain the garrison; the other claimed its possession as a 
right arising from its new political position, and demanded its sur- 
render, and it prepared to assert that right by force. Upon the 
9th of January, the day upon which the Star of the West was 
fired upon, the Governor of South Carolina addressed a communi- 
cation to three engineer officers* directing them to come together 
immediately to consider and report upon the most favorable 
plan for operating upon Fort Sumter, so as to reduce it, by bat- 
teries or other means, and they were to include Colonel Mani- 
gault, the State Ordnance officer, in their consultation. 




MOUNTING GUNS WITH THE GIN. 



This military board, or Ordnance Board, exercised more or 
less control over military operations. They objected to the firing 
upon the Star of the West, as they hnd also done to the occu- 
pancy of the forts on the 27th of December.f 

The persons designated met promptly, and upon the following- 
date reported to the Governor that they were decidedly and 
unanimously of the opinion " that surprise, assault or stratagem 



• Colonels Walter Gwynn, White and Trapier. 

fOrdnance Board: General James Jones, General Gab. Manigault, General 
Jamison, Major Walter Gwynn, Thos. F. Dayton. 



PLANS FOR REDUCING FORT SUMTER. 



209 



were not to be depended upon, as uncertain in their results and 
involving much probable sacrifice of life, and that their depend- 
ence and sole reliance must be upon batteries of heavy ord- 
nance " until "an incessant bombardment and cannonade" had 
made such an impression that an assault would be easy, and they 
submitted the following plan : that the dismantled battery " at 
Fort Moultrie should be restored, and protected by merlons and 
made an embrasure battery; " that mortar batteries should be 
erected at a point west of Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island nearest 
to Fort Sumter ; and that at Fort Johnson and Cummings Point 
a battery of three 8-inch Columbiads should also be established. 
As germain to the plan of attack upon Fort Sumter, they 
recommend the erection forthwith of "a gun-battery of heavy 
guns" at 1,400 yards east from Fort Moultrie to command the 
Maffit Channel, and which, by blocking up all the other channels 
to the city, could be defended in case of failure in their attack 
upon Fort Sumter and the destruction of Fort Moultrie, and 
enable them to get possession of Fort Sumter by " the slow (but 
sure) process of stai-vation." The plan was approved, and prep- 
arations immediately made and continued to carry it into effect. 
Whatever of hesitancy or uncertainty may have prevailed before 
the Star of the West was fired upon, there was no illusion as to 
the purpose of the State after that event had occurred. The prep- 
arations for defense and for the reduction of the fort were carried 
on openly and without disguise, and the garrison witnessed, from 
day to day, the gradual construction of works' intended to close 
the harbor to all relief to them and to be used in their destruction. 
On every side there was the greatest activity manifested. 
Steamers laden with troops and munitions and material of war 
were passing and repassing by day and night. Large bodies of 
negroes were employed without interruption in constructing the 
new works and in repairing and strengthening the old. Signalling 
between the town, the forts and the vessels was in constant prac- 
tice. At daylight on the 12th it was discovered that the parapet 
of Fort Moultrie had been lined with merlons during the previous 
night. Three large traverses were subsequently erected on the 
sea front, and one begun by our own engineers was enlarged, and 
solid merlons, formed of timber, sand-bags and earth were 
raised between all the guns that bore on Fort Sumter, as well as 
others, to protect the guns on the sea front from an enfilading 



2IO THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

fire. These merlons were run up solidly to the height of five 
feet, and completely covered the quarters and barracks of Fort 
Moultrie to the eaves. The guns dismounted by the burning of 
the gun-carriages upon the abandonment of the fort by Major 
Anderson were all remounted by the 27th of January. Rapid 
progress was made upon the battery at Cummings Point. A 
large quantity of material was landed, and a strong force of work- 
men kept constantly employed. Heavy guns were landed, and 
although from the isolated position of Fort Sumter it was impos- 
sible to determine with positive accuracy the exact nature of the 
work going on around it, it was yet evident that every energy was 
being brought to bear upon the construction of their batteries in 
preparation for an attack upon and the reduction of the fort. 
Work was often carried on by night, and heavy timbers, formed 
into rafts, floated down and stranded near the sites of the batteries 
begun. 

On the 15th the Fresnel light and the light-house on Morris 
Island were taken down, and the strictest watch kept upon vessels 
attempting to enter the harbor. A steamer, thought to be of the 
New York line, in coming in on the morning of the 12th, had a shot 
fired across her bow, when she ran up the Palmetto flag and was 
allowed to pass. 

On the 1 8th of January the Executive Council determined 
upon the construction of a " floating battery," and for which $1,200 
was appropriated and the work at once begun. The public 
press seemed determined to maintain a hostile feeling and to 
bring on a collision with the Government. A feverish expectation 
that reinforcements would again be sent seemed to pervade the 
community, while within the fort a feeling prevailed that an attack 
upon it was inevitable. On the 29th firing from the batteries on 
Morris Island took place. Rockets were sent up, and answered 
from the steamers. The guard-boats came in from outside, with 
two tugs from the bar, and after midnight two guns were fired 
from Moultrie. It was supposed by those in the fort that a 
steamer was approaching. No vessel could be seen. In reporting 
the circumstances to his Government, Major Anderson, whose 
anxiety had been clearly manifested, says that he hopes no effort 
wouM be made by friends to throw supplies in, and that their 
doing so would do more harm than good. 

So closely was the work upon Fort Moultrie watched by the 



CHIEF ENGINEER RE FOR TS ENEMY'S BA TTERIES. 2 T I 

engineer officer, that he was enabled from his observations to 
criticize the construction. He reported to his chief on the 21st of 
January, in a general summary of the work going on, that he 
thought the timber cheeks to the embrasures at Fort Moultrie, set 
on end like pallisades, were "objectionable"; that "the exterior 
slope of the merlons is too great to resist the pressure of the earth, 
and that the sand-bags are pressed out in one or two places." 

Of the battery at the east end of Sullivan's Island, nothing 
could be reported, as it was beyond the reach of our glasses and 
shielded from our fire. The existence of an additional battery, 
said to contain guns or mortars and located about 300 yards 
west of Fort Moultrie, was reported, but being masked by houses 
and fences, could not be seen sufficiently to be described accu- 
rately. 

Two batteries at Fort Johnson were established, one for three 
guns and the other for the same number of mortars. The battery 
on Morris Island, which fired upon the Star of the West and 
which now mounted four guns, was also reported, as well as the 
progress made upon the formidable battery in construction upon 
Cummings Point, and upon which a powerful fire from Fort Sum- 
ter from four 8-inch Columbiads, three 42-pounders, one 8-inch 
seacoast howitzer and six 24-pounders en barbette and two 
3 2 -pounders in the lower tier could be brought to bear. 

On the 31st of January, a further report of the work done 
around the fort was made by the same officer, who stated that " the 
batteries on the island above Fort Moultrie are two in number. 
The first is only a short distance above the Moultrie House, and 
about 1,460 yards above Fort Moultrie. It is armed with three 
guns, either 24-pounders or 32-pounders. It is not in sight of 
this fort. Its position is opposite that portion of the Maffit Channel 
which comes closest to the island. The second battery is at the 
upper or east end of the island and is armed with two guns, 24 or 
32 pounders. The last information from the island gave the 
number of men there as 1,450." 

A failure to comply with his instructions in regard to the pro- 
visions had resulted in a deficiency of small-stores, and on the 
27th of January, Major Anderson reported to the Government 
that his supplies now consisted of 38 bbls. pork, 37 bbls. flour, 13 
bbls. hard-bread, 2 bbls. beans, i bbl. coffee, Yt, bbl. sugar, 3 
bbls. vinegar, 10 lbs. candles, 40 lbs. soap, ^ bbl. salt. 



2 I 2 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

The envoy of the Governor had meanwhile arrived in Wash- 
ington and opened negotiations with the Government, but as far 
as could be determined from our position, there was no interrup- 
tion whatever in the prosecution of the works undertaken by 
the State 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Secretary of War J. B. Floyd— His relations to the President — His early posi- 
tion— Sympathy with the South — TheDeGroot claim — Action of the Sec- 
retary— Claim refused— Abstraction of the Indian Trust bonds — Substitu- 
tion for them of bills drawn on Secretary of War — Violation of the law — 
House of Representatives appoints a committee to investigate and report, 
at instance of Secretary of Interior — Exonerates that officer— Secretary of 
War implicated — President requests his resignation — Resigns on 2gth 
December — Previous order of Secretary to transfer heavy ordnance to 
Southern forts yet unfinished — Excitement in Pittsburg, Pa. — President 
notified — Countermands the order — Transfer of small-arms to the South in 
1859 — Investigation by House of Representatives — Committee on Military 
Affairs relieve him from any criminal intent — Secretary of War, upon 
return to Richmond, claims credit for the act — Subsequent appointment 
in the Confederate army. 

In order to a full and just understanding of the course pur- 
sued by the Secretary of War, Governor Floyd, at this juncture, 
his relations to the President, and his final action, a resume of his 
connection with these events is necessary. 

The President had not known Governor Floyd personally 
before tendering to him a position in his Cabinet. He had, 
like his father, been Governor of Virginia, and the fact that he 
had declined a recommendation from the Electoral College of 
Virginia, urging him for a position in the Cabinet, believing as he 
did, that the President should be left free in his choice, brought 
him under the favorable notice of Mr. Buchanan, who appointed 
him Secretary of War. He was at this time, and up to nearly the 
close of Mr. Buchanan's administration, an avowed Union man 
and a ** consistent opponent of secession." He had supported 
the President in his determination not to send reinforcements to 
Charleston Harbor, and he was resolved, as far as it lay in his own 
power, to maintain the existing status in the harbor until an effort 
at negotiation should have been fairly tried. He thought seces- 
sion unnecessary, but recognized it as a right of the State, and 
he fully sympathized with the South in whatever action she might 
see fit to take, while at the same time he was ever opposed 

2I| 



214 "^^^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

to coercion. His position at the head of the War Department 
gave him especial prominence as the events developed themselves 
and daily became more threatening. But developments of 
another nature began to be known, which very seriously affected 
the character of the Secretary, and largely altered his relations to 
the President. In the early autumn of the year i860, and before 
the return of the President to Washington, a large claim had 
been presented to the War Department by one De Groot. 
The Secretary was anxious that this claim should be paid. The 
papers had been presented at the Treasury Department, but upon 
examination the Secretary, Mr. Cobb, determined to suspend the 
payment until the return of the President to Washington. Upon 
his return, the papers were sent by his direction to the Attorney- 
General, Judge Black, and while in his hands, he was called upon 
at his ofifice by the Secretary of War. The claim was refused. 
The confidence of the President in his Secretary had been shaken; 
but while he believed that he was without judgment in financial 
matters, or ability to manage them, he was not wanting in per- 
sonal integrity. But shortly afterwards, an exposure was made 
of a serious fraud occurring in the office of the Secretary of the 
Interior directly, and involving the personal character of the Sec- 
retary of War. It was reported to the President on the night of 
the 226. of December, that eight hundred State bonds for ^1,000 
each, which had been held in trust by the Government for differ- 
ent Indian tribes, had been removed from the safe in the office 
of the Secretary of the Interior, and had been delivered by 
Goddard Bailey, the clerk in charge of them, to William H. 
Russell, of the firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell. Bailey had, 
from time to time, received from Russell bills corresponding in 
amount to the bonds abstracted, and which he had substituted 
for them in the safe in the office of the Secretary of the Interior, 
transferring the bonds to Russell. 

These bills were drawn by the firm of Russell, Majors & 
Waddell on John B. Floyd, Secretary of War. They had been 
drawn in anticipation and accepted in violation of the law. The 
acceptances were thirteen in number, and it was remarked " that 
the last of them, dated on the 13th of December, i860, for $135,- 
000, had been drawn for the precise sum necessary to make the 
aggregate amount of the whole number of bills exactly equal to 
that of the abstracted bonds." This exposure produced a pro- 



FRES. REQUESTS RESIGNATION OF SEC. OF WAR. 2 I5 

found effect in the country. A commission " to investigate and 
report" upon the subject was appointed by the House of Represen- 
tatives, at the instance of the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. 
Thompson, who in their report of the 12th of February, 1861, 
wholly exonerated that officer by a declaration that they had dis- 
covered "nothing" to indicate that he had any complicity in the 
transaction " or knowledge of it, or anything to involve him in 
the slightest degree in the fraud." In pursuing their investiga- 
tion the Commissioners had summoned before them for examina- 
tion as witnesses both Wm. H. Russell and John B. Floyd. An 
act of Congress had provided that a witness examined before a 
committee of either House, should not be held " to answer crim- 
inally in any court of justice for any fact or act" touching which 
he shall have testified. 

The action of the Committee thus prevented any further in- 
vestigation of a judicial character, but the connection of the Sec- 
retary of War with this " fraudulent transaction " concentrated 
upon him so much of public feeling that the President deter- 
mined to remove him from his Cabinet. Sending for his Secre- 
tary of State, Judge Black, he mentioned to him his determina- 
tion, and requested him to see the Secretary of War and ask him 
to tender his resignation. This the Secretary of State declined 
to do; while stating to the President his willingness to do all that 
lay in the line of his duty, he considered that this was a matter 
so entirely between the President and his Secretary of War alone, 
that he preferred not to interfere. In this the President acqui- 
esced, saying that he would " find some one."* Shortly afterward he 
sought the Vice-President, Mr. Breckenridge, who was a kinsman 
of Secretary Floyd, and communicated to him his wishes. The 
Secretary had entertained at the time no thought of resigning, 
and he so stated to the Vice-President, qualifying his statement 
at the same time that he would only resign in case the President 
should express such a wish. "The President does wish it," re- 
plied Mr. Breckenridge. "But that cannot be," said the Secre- 
tary, "for he has not so intimated to me." "He has requested 
me to say so to you," said the Vice-President, who then informed 
the Secretary that in case he should not resign he would be re- 
moved. The Secretary then stated that he would resign his ofifice. 



Judge Black to writer. 



2 I 6 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

But he did not resign at that time, although the President con- 
sidered him as virtually out of his Cabinet as he was and had 
been for any purpose of advice or counsel, although he presented 
hirnself at the Cabinet meetings so constantly held at the time 
that the South Carolina Commissioners were in Washington, and 
Anderson had made his movement from Fort Moultrie to Fort 
Sumter. On the 29th of December the formal resignation of his 
office was sent to the President. It was immediately accepted 
without reference to the offer of the Secretary to continue in the 
discharge of the duties until his successor could be appointed, 
and he left the Cabinet, giving way to the Postmaster-General, 
Holt, who was appointed Secretary of War, ad hiterim. 

On the 20th of December, the day upon which the Ordinance 
of Secession was passed by the Convention of South Carolina, 
the Secretary of War, without the knowledge or consent of the 
President, directed the Chief of the Ordnance Bureau, Captain 
Maynadier, to forward to the forts on Ship Island and at Galves- 
ton the heavy guns necessary to their armament. The usual form 
in transmitting orders in such case was not observed, and the 
order was given verbally and was not recorded. It was in every 
way premature, for the forts were in no condition to receive their 
armament. 

The order of the Secretary was obeyed by Captain Maynadier, 
who in his letter of the 3d of February, 1862, to the Council of 
Representatives, stated that it never entered into his mind " that 
there could be any improper motive or object in the order," as 
the Secretary " was then regarded throughout the country as a 
strong advocate of the Union, and an opponent of secession." 
In accordance with the order, and under the regular routine of 
the service, towards the close of December the armament was 
made ready for shipment on board of the Silver Wave, then 
awaiting the transfer. The Engineer Department had informed 
the Chief of Ordnance that the number and character of the guns 
required was 113 Columbiads and eleven 32-pounders. The news 
of the order that a number of the large guns at their foundry 
were about to be sent South, soon spread among the community 
of Pittsburg, and caused immediate and great excitement. Secre- 
tary Floyd had now left the Cabinet. A committee of gentlemen 
of the city of Pittsburg had meantime communicated the facts to 
the President, who, through his then Secretary of War, Mr. Holt, 



SMALL-ARMS SENT TO SOUTHERN ARSENALS. 



217 



promptly countermanded the order. The guns were not moved, 
the excitement was allayed, and on the 4th of January, 1861, a 
formal vote of thanks from the select and common councils of 
the city was tendered to the President, his Secretary of State, 
Judge Black, and the Secretary of War, Mr. Holt. 

Previously to this affair public rumor had connected the name 
of the Secretary of War with a transaction involving the trans- 
mission of a large amount of small-arms to the South " for the use 
of insurgents." It was stated, and at the time generally credited, 
that the Secretary of War, with the knowledge of the President, 
had taken from the Northern arsenals in December, 1859, 115,000 
stand of arms of superior quality, with their accoutrements and 
supplies of ammunition, and transferred them in excessive quan- 
tities to the arsenals at Fayetteville, Charleston, Augusta, Mount 
Vernon and Baton Rouge in the South, " so that on the breaking 
out of the maturing rebellion they might be found without cost, 
except to the United States, in the most convenient positions for 
distribution among the insurgents." 

So important a charge could not pass unnoticed, and the Com- 
mittee on Military Affairs of the House of Representatives was 
instructed to inquire and report to the House into all the circum- 
stances connected with the charge made ; and the Committee 
were authorized not only to send for persons and papers, but " to 
report at any time in preference to all other business." 

While the report of the Committee of the House wholly re- 
lieved the Secretary of War from any criminal intent in the trans- 
mission of these arms, his course had been such that it was neces- 
sary for him, as he thought, to propitiate those with whom he had 
now thoroughly identified himself; and upon his arrival at Rich- 
mond he announced " that he had, while Secretary of War, supplied 
the South with arms in anticipation of the approaching rebellion " 
— a confession that he had proved treacherous to his former high 
official trust. And he succeeded. He was taken into favor and 
was subsequently appointed to the rank of brigadier-general in the 
Confederate Army, although in opposition to the wishes of Mr. 
Jefferson Davis, who only yielded to the solicitations of Virginia 
in his behalf. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Envoy of Governor of South Carolina arrives in Washington— Informal and 
unofficial interview with the President— Informs the President of his mission 
verbally — Action of Southern Senators— Their communication— Envoy 
complies with their request, and withholds his communication temporarily 
— Proposes arrangement with the President, to whom this correspondence 
is sent— President's reply through his Secretary of War— Able letters of 
Secretary, who makes known the purpose of the President— President 
declines to make any arrangement— Will reinforce Major Anderson, should 
he require it — Senators again address the envoy, and oppose any collision 
upon the part of the State until their States were ready— Fort Sumter as 
^^ property''' — Correspondence with President sent to Governor Pickens — 
Reply of his Secretary of State, Judge Magrath— Reviews and criticizes it 
— Insists upon knowing the position of the Government —Demands 
surrender of Fort Sumter — President's reply to be at once communicated, 
when Governor would decide upon his course —Envoy to return. 

The envoy of the Governor of South Carolina arrived in Wash- 
ington on the 1 2th of January, and on the 14th held an "informal 
and unofficial " interview with the President. He had already 
been informed that what was of an official nature should be con- 
ducted by written communications. He did not present his cre- 
dentials, but informed the President verbally that he bore a letter 
from the Governor of South Carolina in regard to the occupation 
of Fort Sumter, and which he would deliver to him with a com- 
munication from himself the next day. His arrival, however, and 
the object of his mission had become known. 

On the 15 th of January the envoy was waited upon by a Sena- 
tor from Alabama, representing all the Senators from the States 
which had then seceded or were about to secede, who were then 
in Washington. He represented to the envoy that all of these 
Senators felt interested in the object of his mission equally with 
South Carolina; that initiation of hostilities now between South 
Carolina and the General Government would necessarily involve 
their States; and that the action of South Carolina might compli- 
cate the relations between her and the seceding States and 
interfere with a peaceful solution of the difficulties existing. 

218 



LETTER OF SOUTHERN SENATORS. 



219 



They therefore requested that he would defer for a few days the 
delivery of the letter of the Governor to the President, until the 
suggestions they had to make should be considered by both To 
this the envoy agreed, when on the same day the Senators referred 
to addressed to him a communication informing him that they 
were apprised of his arrival with the letter to the President, but 
that without knowing its contents they yet requested him to defer 
its delivery. That the possession of Fort Sumter, and the circum- 
stances under which it was taken, was a "just cause of irritation 
and apprehension " upon the part of the State, and the chief if not 
the only source of difficulty, but that they had assurances that it 
was only held as " property," without any hostile or unfriendly 
purpose. They desired an amicable adjustment, and, represent- 
ing States which had already seceded or would soon do so, and 
whose people felt that they had a common destiny with South 
Carolina and were looking forward to meet her in the coming 
Convention of the 15th of February, to form a new confederation 
and provisional Government, they thought that it was due from 
South Carolina to the other slave-holding States that she should 
avoid initiating hostilities, as far as she could do so consistently 
with her honor. They also asserted that ''we have the public 
declaration of the President, that he has not the constitutional 
power to make war in South Carolina, and that the public peace 
shall not be disturbed by any act of hostility towards your State." 
Hence, they saw no reason why a settlement of existing difficulties 
might not be arrived at, if time were given for calm and deliberate 
counsel, and they trusted that an arrangement would be agreed 
upon between him and the Presidents "at least until the 15th of 
February next." They urged, too, that the State should suffer 
Major Anderson to obtain necessary supplies "of food, fuel or 
water," and enjoy free communication by post or special messen- 
ger with the President, upon the understanding that the President 
would not send him reinforcements during the same period; and 
their proposition, with the answer of the envoy, they proposed to 
submit to the President. These suggestions they hoped might be 
submitted to the Governor if the envoy himself was not clothed 
with the power to act, and that until his response was communi- 
cated to the President, "of course" Fort Sumter would not be 
attacked and the President would not offer to reinforce it. The 
letter was signed by Louis T. Wigfall, John Hemphill, D. L. 



2 20 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Yulee, S. R. Mallory, Jeff. Davis, C. C. Clay, Jr., Benj. Fitz- 
patrick, A. Iverson, John Slidell, J. P. Benjamin. 

The envoy felt the force of the appeal made to him, and, as 
far as he felt justified, complied with the request. As he stated 
in his communication of the 17th inst., he was not clothed with 
power to make the arrangements they suggested, but he offered 
to withhold the communication with which he was charged and to 
await further instructions, provided that the Senators who 
addressed him could get satisfactory assurances "that ;/^ rein- 
forcements would be sent to Fort Sumter in the interval," and 
that there should be no act of hostility towards the State. He 
assures the Senators, also, that Major Anderson was then obtain- 
ing " all necessary supplies," which was erroneous, and he closed 
his communication by authorizing the Senators to assure the 
President that in case of their proposition being acceded to, no 
attack would be made upon Fort Sumter until the response of the 
Governor had been received and communicated to him. On the 
19th of January the correspondence between the " Senators of the 
United States " and Colonel Hayne was presented to the Presi- 
dent, who was asked to " take into consideration the subject of 
said correspondence." This letter was dated in the Senate 
Chamber, and signed by Benj. Fitzpatrick, S. R. Mallory and 
John Slidell. To these Senators the Secretary of War, upon the 
part of the President, addressed a reply on the 2 2d of January, 
three days after the receipt of their letter. ' The Secretary 
acknowledges the receipt of the letter by the President, and 
recapitulates the circumstances under which it had been sent. 
He considered it unnecessary to refer specially to the suggestions 
made by the Senators, because the letter addressed to them by 
Colonel Hayne of the 17th inst. presents a clear and specific 
answer to them, which he recites. He informs the Senators that 
it was the fixed purpose of the President, then, as it had been 
heretofore, " to perform his executive duties in such a manner as 
to preserve the peace of the country and to prevent bloodshed;" 
to act upon the defensive and to authorize no movement against 
the people of South Carolina, unless clearly justified by a hostile 
movement on their part; and he alleges that his forbearance to 
use force when the Star of the West was fared upon, was a proof 
of that desire. But, that to give " assurances " that no reinforce- 
ments would be sent to Fort Sumter in the interval, or that the 



REPLY OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 221 

public peace would not be disturbed by any act of hostility 
towards South Carolina, as proposed by Colonel Hayne, was 
"impossible." "The President," said the Secretary, "has no 
authority to enter into such an agreement or understanding." 
That as an executive officer, he was bound to protect the public 
property, and that he could not violate his duty by evading that 
obligation, either for an indefinite or a limited period. It was not 
deemed necessary to reinforce Major Anderson, because he had 
made no such request, and felt secure in his position. " Should 
his safety, however, require reinforcements, every effort will be 
made to supply them." 

He also informs the Senators that to Congress alone belongs 
the power to make war; and for the Executive to give an assurance, 
as requested by Colonel Hayne, that the public peace would not 
be " disturbed by any act of hostility towards South Carolina " 
upon the part of Congress, would be an act of usurpation upon his 
part, however strongly the President might be convinced that no 
such intention existed. He expresses his gratification that Major 
Anderson is permitted to obtain supplies from Charleston, and 
expresses his conviction that the happiest result which could be 
attained would be the continuance of the present amicable foot- 
ing between Major Anderson and the authorities of South Caro- 
lina, "neither party being bound by any obligation whatever, 
except the high Christian and moral duty to keep the peace and 
to avoid all causes of mutual irritation." 

The President had anticipated that this " peremptory refusal " 
to enter into the agreement proposed to him would have ter- 
minated the mission of the envoy and released him from the 
obligation imposed by the truce. In this he was disappointed. 

On the following day seven of the Senators who had signed 
the previous communication to Colonel Hayne again addressed 
him, informing him of the receipt of the letter from the Secretary 
of War, and which they enclosed to him. Although its terms 
were not as satisfactory as they could have desired, they expressed 
their entire confidence that no reinforcements would be sent to 
Fort Sumter, nor the public peace disturbed within the period 
requisite for full communication between the envoy and his Gov- 
ernment; and they trusted that he would feel justified in applying 
for further instructions before delivering to the President "any 
message " with which he had been charged. They again 



222 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

expressed the earnest hope that the State would take no step 
tending to produce a collision, until their States, which were to 
share the fortunes of South Carolina, should join their counsels 
with hers. 

To this proposition, thus submitted to him, the envoy agreed. 
In his reply to the Senators who had addressed him, the envoy, 
in communicating his determination to withhold the letter 
entrusted to him, took occasion to express his regret that the 
President thought it necessary to keep a garrison of troops " at 
Fort Sumter to protect it as the property of the United States;" 
that South Carolina would scorn to appropriate to herself the 
property of another, " vrithout accounting to the last dollar for 
everything " which she might deem necessary to take into her own 
possession for her protection and in vindication of her honor; 
that as " property," Fort Sumter was in far greater jeopardy 
occupied by a United States garrison than it would be if delivered 
to the State authorities, with a pledge that they would fully account 
for it "upon a fair adjustment;" that the occupation of a fort in 
the midst of a harbor, with its guns bearing on every point, by a 
Government no longer acknowledged, could not be else than an 
occasion of irritation, excitement and indignation, and as creat- 
ing a condition of things which he feared was but little calculated 
to advance the obser\'ance of the " high Christian and moral duty 
to keep the peace," recommended by the Secretary of War in his 
communication. 

In his judgment, to continue to hold Fort Sumter by United 
States troops was the worst possible means of protecting it as 
" property," and the worst possible means of effecting a peaceable 
solution of the difficulties. 

The correspondence between the envoy and the Senators, 
including the reply of the President through the Secretary of War, 
was at once transmitted to the authorities of South Carolina, and 
on the 26th of January a reply upon the part of the Governor 
through A. G. Magrath, the Secretary of State, was returned to the 
envoy.* 

The communication was lengthy, but at once clear and unequi- 
vocal. It reviewed all of the facts as stated and the points at 



* Judge Magrath's letter of January 26, 1861, to Hayne. P. 21, Appendix 
to Convention of South Carolina. 



JUDGE MAGRATH REPLIES TO SEC. OF WAR. 223 

issue; in reference to the intervention of the Senators from the 
seceding States and the suggestions made by them, he informs the 
envoy that no such communication was anticipated by the Gover- 
nor in the instructions which were furnished to him; but that the 
discretion exercised in the delay of the deUvery of his letter to 
the President, under the circumstances, commended itself to the 
approval of the Governor, as due from the State of South Carolina 
to the representatives of her sister States expecting to act with her. 
The reply of the President through his Secretary of War, and 
especially that part of it in regard to his purpose to hold Fort 
Sumter as "property" of the United States; his declaration in 
response to the expressed desire of the Senators that the State 
should avoid the initiation of hostilities, and also the impossibility 
of giving any assurance that reinforcements would not be sent to 
Fort Sumter, and that they would be sent should Major Anderson's 
safety require it — were all carefully restated by the Governor's 
Secretary of State, who in his communication replied to them all. 
He thought that the letter of the Senators and the envoy's reply 
presented a "marked and agreeable contrast " to the President's 
letter; that the Governor appreciated the feeling which that 
letter must have excited in those Senators, as well as their for- 
bearance and their generosity in still continuing to hope that a 
collision might be avoided until their States should equally share 
the dangers. It was intended that the acquiescence of the President 
in the "arrangements or understanding" by which he would be 
prevented from sending reinforcements to Fort Sumter, should be 
binding upon him, and it was so declared by the Senators in their 
letter to the envoy of the 15th of January. With the concession 
from the State in certain measures, a concession from the President 
was " evidently expected " by them. The reply of the President, 
and his refusal to agree to abstain from action either until the 
15th of February, the day named by the Senators, or even 
until the envoy could communicate with the Governor of the 
State, although the President knew that such attempt would be 
regarded by the State as an act of war, was commented upon. 
What the State had been desired to do by the Senators, she had 
done, not in acknowledgment of any right on the part of the 
United States, but as an act of courtesy; with the supplies 
Major Anderson was receiving and the facilities he was enjoy- 
ing, no pretext for interference with the harbor could be found, 



224 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

except in connection with the right claimed to reinforce the fort, 
and which, " involved in a duty," carried with it the necessity 
that he should determine when that duty should be dis- 
charged. As to the President's intimation that no reinforcements 
would be sent, because Anderson had not asked for them and felt 
secure in his position, it should be remembered that on a previous 
occasion, when he had not asked for reinforcements and possibly 
felt as secure as now, they were nevertheless sent, and it was not 
the fault of the Government "that they did not reach him." 
The proposition thus made by the Southern Senators was " unsoli- 
cited and unexpected." "It was the evidence of a generous 
impulse " and an exhibition of an anxious desire to avoid collision 
and strife, and the moderation of their terms would long be 
remembered. Under these circumstances it was now not only 
" important " but " indispensably necessary " that the Governor 
should " correctly understand " the position of the General Govern- 
ment towards the State of South Carolina. The correspondence 
and the letter of the President served to dispel much of whatever 
doubt may have existed, and the Governor concluded that, 
stripped of all disguise, the " real purpose of the President " was 
to retain Fort Sumter as a military post; that the position of 
the President in regard to South Carolina was the same in refer- 
ence to the other States which had seceded; and the Governor 
considered it to be his duty to regard all hostile attempts by the 
General Government upon any State which had seceded as 
" attempts made directly upon South Carolina." 

The envoy is further informed by the South Carolina Secretary 
of State, that it was regarded as a " happy circumstance " by the 
Governor that, in deferring to the wishes of the Senators, their good 
intent had been rewarded by " leading to that declaration from the 
President," which would be regarded in every seceding State as 
" his declaration of war against them." In reference to the firing 
upon the Star of the West, the Governor did not wish to be under- 
stood as acquiescing in the correctness of that construction of the 
President's conduct, which the President was " pleased to consider a 
proof of his forbearance," but which the Governor considered 
"under the circumstances of the case, wholly unjustifiable, and more 
than aggravating." The repulse of the steamer was not to be 
considered by the President as the attack of the State upon an un- 
armed vessel. If it was not a vessel intended for war, it was less 



JUDGE MA GRA TIP S LE TTER CONCL UDED. 225 

excusable to attempt to introduce armed men to execute the 
orders of the President " under the shield of a peaceful trader." 
It was not only a hostile demonstration, but one attempted under a 
disguise, and which, had it been successful, would have had noth- 
ing but the success attending it " to compensate for the sacrifice of 
the proprieties with which it had been purchased." 

The propriety of the demand with which the envoy was charged 
had not only been confirmed in the opinion of the Governor, but 
he had now become convinced of its necessity. The safety of the 
State required " that the position " of the President should be " dis- 
tinctly understood," and the safety of all of the seceding States 
was equally involved. To hold Fort Sumter as a military post 
within the limits of South Carolina "will not be tolerated." The 
envoy was to say to the President that if he asserted the right to 
send reinforcements to Fort Sumter, South Carolina would regard 
such a right, when asserted, or an attempt at its exercise, as a 
declaration of war. If the President intended that it should not be 
so understood, it was proper that he should know how the Governor 
felt "bound to regard it." 

If the President should refuse to deliver the fort upon the 
pledge the envoy was authorized to make, he would at once com- 
municate that fact to the Governor. If the President, however, 
should not be prepared to give an immediate answer, he was to be 
informed that his answer might be transmitted to the Governor. 
The envoy was not to remain longer than to execute this as his 
closing duty, and when he should receive the reply of the Presi- 
dent, the Governor would then consider the conduct which would 
be necessary upon his part. Finally, the Senators who had "gen- 
erously interposed " were thanked by the Governor, who expresses 
the feeling that if other counsels should prevail, his own efforts and 
those of the Senators interested were earnestly made to avert them, 
and that he had no further communication to make to his envoy, 
except to thank him for the manner in which the duty entrusted to 
him had been discharged. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Envoy Hayne presents his letter to the President — Subsequently addresses Presi- 
dent directly — Comments upon the letter of Secretary of War — Receives 
further instructions, and communicates as special envoy — Offers to make 
compensation for Fort Sumter — Comments upon the President's letter to 
the Southern Senators — ^Justifies the firing upon the Star of the West — 
Able response of Secretary of War for the President — Fort Sumter as 
^^ property''^ — Answers propositions of envoy — Rightof " eminent domain" 
cannot be asserted— No constitutional right in President to "cede or sur- 
render" Fort Sumter — Right to send reinforcements "unquestionable " — 
President will send them, if necessary — Fort held as property and for no 
unfriendly purpose — Envoy replies directly to the President and leaves 
Washington— His letter — -The President declines to receive it — Letter re- 
turned to Colonel Hayne by mail. 

Upon the receipt of the communication of the Secretary of 
State of South Carolina, the envoy of the Governor lost no time 
in presenting the letter with which he had been charged to the 
President. On the 31st of January he addressed to the Presi- 
dent a communication, in which he rehearsed the steps that had 
been taken since his personal interview with him, the part taken 
by the Southern Senators, their address to him, and his reply to 
their letter through his Secretary of War. This reply is com- 
mented upon by the envoy at some length, who pronounces it as 
" unsatisfactory " to him. It appeared to him that not only was 
the main proposition of the Senators rejected in advance, but that 
there was also in the Secretary's letter a distinct refusal to make 
any stipulation on the subject of reinforcement, even for the 
short time requisite for him to communicate with his Govern- 
ment. The reply was unsatisfactory to him, and would be so 
also to the authorities he represented. But as the reply was not 
addressed to him or to those authorities, and as South Caro- 
lina had addressed nothing to the Government or asked any- 
thing at the hands of the President, he had looked only to 
the note addressed to him by the Senators of the seceded and 
seceding States. Further instructions had arrived on the 30th, 
for his guidance, and he had now the honor to make to the 

226 



ENVOY HAYNE ADDRESSES THE PRE SIDE A'T. 



227 



President his first communication as "Special envoy from the 
Governor of South Carolina." 

The letter of the Governor of the 12th of January was 
enclosed to the President, the envoy at the same time stating to 
him that the Governor was not only confirmed in his opinion as to 
the propriety of the demand, but that the circumstances developed 
by his mission had increased that opinion into a conviction 
of its necessity. If Fort Sumter was not held as property, 
but as a military post, such a post within the limits of South 
Carolina could not be tolerated. He did " not come as a military 
man to demand the surrender of a fortress," but as the legal officer 
of the State, its Attorney-General, to claim for the State the exer- 
cise of its undoubted right of " eminent domain," and to pledge 
the State to make good all injury to the right of property which 
might arise from the exercise of that claim. The right assumed by 
the State "to take into her possession everything within her limits 
essential to maintain her honor and her safety, she would not 
permit to be drawn into discussion. She would make compen- 
sation, "upon a fair accounting, to the last dollar." And the 
envoy informs the President that the proposition now was that 
he, her law officer, should pledge the faith of the State under the 
authority of the Governor and Council, "to make such compen- 
sation in regard to Fort Sumter " to the full extent of the money- 
value of the property of the United States delivered to the authori- 
ties of the State. 

The view that a continued armed possession of the fort would 
put it in jeopardy and lead to a collision, was again expressed to 
the President. In the opinion of the envoy, " no people not com- 
pletely abject and pusillanimous, could submit, indefinitely " to 
an armed occupation of a fort commanding the harbor of its prin- 
cipal city; where "the daily ferry-boats that ply upon the waters " 
moved " but at the sufferance of aliens." This armed occupancy 
was not only unnecessary, but it was manifestly the " worst possible 
means " which could be taken to accomplish the object. The reply 
of the President to the Senators on the subject of remforcements 
was referred to and quoted by the envoy. That part of the Presi- 
dent's message of the 28th of January, where he expresses himself 
that it would be a " usurpation " upon his part to attempt to 
restrain the action of Congress by entering into any agreement 
in regard to matters over which he, as President, had no constitu- 



2 28 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

tional control, as Congress might pass laws which he would be 
bound to obey, was quoted by the envoy, who replied that the 
proposition was addressed to the President under the laws as they 
then were, and had no reference to new conditions under new legis- 
lation. " It was addressed to the Executive discretion, acting 
under existing laws." If Congress should in any way legislate so 
as to affect the peace of the State, " her interests or her rights," 
she would have timely notice, and would endeavor, he trusted, to 
meet the emergency. 

In regard to the assertion of the Secretary of War, that should 
Anderson's safety require it, every effort would be made to 
send him reinforcements, the envoy thought that this seemed *' to 
ignore the other branch of the proposition made by the Senators," 
in reference to the suspension of any attack upon Fort Sumter 
during the period suggested. It was the imperative duty of the 
State, and as an absolute necessity of her condition, and in con- 
sideration of her own dignity as a sovereign and the safety of the 
people, " to demand that this property should not longer be used 
as a military post by a Government she no longer acknowledges." 

The President's expressed opinions as against coercion and for 
a peaceful solution of the difficulties, were invoked by the envoy, 
who expressed the hope that he would not, upon further consid- 
eration " and mere question of property, refuse the reasonable 
demand of South Carolina." If this hope should be disappointed 
the responsibility would not rest with the State. He urges, too, 
that if war was to be made, it should be made as of deliberate 
device, and entered upon as war and of set purpose," and not '■'■ as 
the incident or accident " of a policy professedly peaceful. 

He justifies the firing upon the Star of the West, and informs 
the President that the interposition of the Senators who addressed 
him was unexpected by his Government, and unsolicited by him, 
but that while the Governor of his State appreciated their high 
and generous motives, he felt that his demand upon the President 
should no longer be withheld. 

The President, upon the receipt of the letter of the envoy, once 
more availed himself of the able pen of his Secretary of War, 
Mr. Holt, to reply, and on the 6th of February that officer trans- 
mitted to the envoy of the Governor of South Carolina a re- 
sponse of great force, in which the whole subject was reviewed 
and the conduct of the President explained and justified. 



REPLY OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 



229 



The demand of the Governor, as contained in his letter of 
January 12, was referred to and its terms quoted, as well as the 
subsequent instructions of the Governor, through his Secretary 
of State, that the right in Fort Sumter as "property" could be 
ascertained and satisfied. The modification of his demand, in 
view of these instructions, presumably under the influence of the 
Senators, was noticed, as well as the expression of the envoy 
under the " full scope and precise purpose" of his instructions as 
thus modified, that he did " not come as a military man to demand 
the surrender of a fortress," but as the Attorney-General of the 
State to assert its undoubted right of "eminent domain," and to 
pledge the State to make good all injury to the rights of property. 

The proposition to make compensation for Fort Sumter to the 
full extent of its money value, which the envoy, as the law officer 
of the State, should pledge the faith of the State to make, was 
also stated by the Secretary of War, as well as reference made to 
the suggestion of the envoy that an attack upon the fort, which 
must result if continued to be held, would not improve it as 
property, and if taken, "would no longer be the subject of 
account." "The proposal, then," said the Secretary, "now pre- 
sented to the President, is simply an offer upon the part of South 
Carolina to buy Fort Sumter and contents, as property of the 
United States, sustained by a declaration, in effect, that if she is 
not permitted to make the purchase, she will seize the fort by 
force of arms." The proposal under the circumstances impressed 
"the President as having assumed a most unusual form," but 
that he had investigated the claim made, apart from the declara- 
tion that accompanied it. "Property" and "public property" 
were the most comprehensive terms that could be used in such 
connection, and when used in reference to a fort, they embraced 
the entire and undivided interest of the Government. The title 
to Fort Sumter upon the part of the Government was incontest- 
able. Its interest " might probably be subjected to the exercise 
of the right of eminent domain," were it "purely proprietary" 
only, but its political relations gave it " a much higher and more 
imposing character " than mere proprietorship. Its jurisdiction 
and the power -to " exercise exclusive legislation " over it, was 
absolute and was therefore incompatible with the claim of 
" eminent domain " now claimed by the State. And this authority 
was derived from the peaceful cession of South Carolina itself, and 



230 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



in accordance with law, and South Carolina could no more assert 
the right of " eminent domain" over Fort Sumter than Maryland 
could assert it over the District of Columbia, the " political and 
proprietary rights" in each case, being precisely the same. 

But whatever might be the claim of the State, the President 
had no constitutional right to cede or surrender the fort. As the 
head of the executive branch of the Government, the President 
could "no more sell and transfer" the fort to the State of South 
Carolina, than he could sell the Capitol of the United States to 
Maryland. The question of sending reinforcements, the Secre- 
tary considered as having been fully disposed of in his letter to 
the Senators. He declined to renew its discussion, but repeats 
the determination of the President to send them if needed and 
Anderson should ask for them, and he thought that he could add 
nothing to the " explicitness " of that language, which still 
applied. The right to send those reinforcements rested on the 
same " unquestionable foundation " as the right to occupy the 
fort itself. The suggestion contained in the letter of the Senators 
of the 15th of January, that it was due from South Carolina to her 
sister States that she should " avoid initiating hostilities with the 
United States or any other power," as well as the gratifying 
assurance now given by the envoy, that " South Carolina has 
every disposition to preserve the public peace," would seem to 
ensure the attainment of this common and patriotic object, since 
the President himself was animated by the same desire. But it 
was difficult to reconcile this assurance with the declaration of 
the envoy, that her dignity as a sovereign and the safety of her 
people prompts the State to demand that Fort Sumter " should 
not longer be used as a military post by a Government she no 
longer acknowledges," and that this occupation must lead to a 
collision and to war. " Fort Sumter is, in itself," said the Secre- 
tary, " a military post and nothing else, and it would seem that 
not so much the fact as the purpose of its use should give to it 
a hostile or a friendly character." The Government held it now 
for the same national and defensive objects for which it had been 
always held since its completion, and the whole force of its 
batteries would be at once used against an enemy which should 
attack Charleston or its harbor. And the President could not 
understand how " a small garrison actuated by such a spirit " 
could become a source of irritation to the people or compromise 



"IXSULTING ANSWER'' OF ENVOY. 



231 



the dignity or honor of the State. Its attitude was neither 
menacing nor unfriendly, and it was under orders to stand 
strictly on the defensive, and unless the Government and people 
of South Carolina should seek its destruction and assault it, they 
could "never receive aught but shelter from its guns," and that 
Senator Davis had truthfully stated the intent with which the fort 
was held when, in connection with other Senators, in their letter 
to him of the 15th of January, he informed him that the fort was 
held as property only, and not for any unfriendly purpose. If 
the President's pacific purposes and his forbearance, so 
severely tried, be not received as a pledge of his policy, then 
neither language nor conduct could possibly furnish one. And 
if, after the multiplied proofs that existed of the President's 
anxiety for peace. Fort Sumter should be assaulted and the lives 
of the garrison imperilled, and the country plunged into war, 
upon the authorities of the State and those they represent must 
rest the responsibility.* 

The President thought that the statements and argu- 
ments of this letter were unanswerable, and that they could not 
but produce an effect upon the envoy personally. It was to be 
presumed, too, that the argument had been exhausted in the 
long correspondence that had taken place. Upon its receipt, 
however, the envoy on the 7th of February prepared a com- 
munication which the President considered an " insulting 
answer," and which was directed, not " as usage and common 
civility required," to the Secretary of War, but directly to the 
President. The envoy " then suddenly left Washington, leav- 
ing his missive behind him, to be delivered after his departure." 

As no mere extract from this unusual communication could 
give a proper idea of its character, it is inserted in full, and is 
as follows : 

" Washington, February 7, 1861. 
" To His Excellency James Buchanan, President. 

" Sir: Your reply through your Secretary of the War 
Department to my communication of the 31st of January, 
covering the demand of the Governor of South Carolina for 
the delivery of Fort Sumter, was received yesterday. Although 
the very distinct and emphatic refusal of that demand closes 
my mission, I feel constrained to correct some strange mis- 
apprehensions into which your Secretary has fallen. 



' Buchanan's Administration." 



232 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



" There has been no modification of the demand author- 
ized to be made, and no change whatever in its character, and 
of this you were distinctly informed in my communication of 
the 31st of January. You have the original demand as 
delivered to me by Governor Pickens on the 12th of January, 
and you have an extract from the further instructions received 
by me, expressly stating that he, the Governor, was confinnedm the 
views he entertained on the 12th of January, by that very corre- 
spondence which you assign as the cause of the alleged modifica- 
tion. You assume that the character of the demand has been 
modified, yet you have from me but one communication, and that 
asserts the contrary, and you have nothing from the Governor but 
the very demand itself, which you say has been modified. What 
purpose of peace or conciliation your Secretary could have had in 
view in the introduction of this point at all, it is difficult to perceive. 

" You next attempt to ridicule the proposal as simply an offer 
on the part of South Carolina to buy Fort Sumter and contents as 
property of the United States, sustained by a declaration, in effect, 
that if she is not permitted to make the purchase, she will seize 
the fort by force of arms. It is difficult to consider this ?s other 
than intentional misconstruction. You were told that South 
Carolina, as a separate, independent sovereignty, would not 
tolerate the occupation, by foreign troops, of a military post with- 
in her limits, but that inasmuch as you, in repeated messages and 
in your correspondence, had * laid much stress ' upon the char- 
acter of your duties, arising from considering forts as property. 
South Carolina, so far as this matter of property suggested by 
yourself was concerned, would make compensation for all injury 
done the property, in the exercise of her sovereign right of emi- 
nent domain. And this your Secretary calls a proposal to pur- 
chase. The idea of purchase is entirely inconsistent with the 
assertion of the paramout right in the purchaser. I had supposed 
that an ' interest in property ' as such, could be no other than 
' purely proprietary,' and if I confined myself to this narrow view 
of your relations to Fort Sumter, you at least should not con- 
sider it the subject of criticism. Until your letter of yesterday, 
you chose so to consider your relations, in everything which you 
have written, or which has been written under your direction. 

*' It was precisely because you had yourself chosen to place 
your action upon the ground of ' purely proprietary ' right, that 
the proposal of compensation was made, and you now admit that 
in this view ' it (Fort Sumter) would probably be subjected to the 
exercise of the right of eminent domain.' 

" In your letter of yesterday (through your Secretary) you 
shift your position. You claim that your Government bears to 
Fort Sumter ' political relations of a much higher and more impos- 
mg character.' 

" It was no part of my mission to discuss the * political tela- 



PRESIDENT RETURNS LETTER TO ENVOY. 



233 



tions ' of the United States Government to anything within the ter- 
ritorial limits of South Carolina. South Carolina claims to have 
severed all political connection with your Government, and to have 
destroyed all political relations of your Government with every- 
thing within her borders. She is unquestionably at this moment de 
facto a separate and independent Government, exercising complete 
sovereignty over every foot of her soil except Fort Sumter. 
Now that the intention is avowed to hold this place as a military 
post, with the claim of exclusive jurisdiction on the part of a 
Government foreign to South Carolina, it will be for the authorities 
to determine what is the proper course to be pursued. It is vain 
to ignore the fact that South Carolina is, to yours, a foreign 
Government, and how with this patent fact before you, you can 
consider the continued occupation of a fort in her harbor a 
pacific measure and parcel of a peaceful policy, passes certainly 
my comprehension. 

" You say that the fort was garrisoned for our protection, and 
is held for the same purposes for which it has been ever held since 
its construction. Are you not aware, that to hold, in the territory 
of a foreign power, a fortress against her will, avowedly for the 
purpose of protecting her citizens, is, perhaps, the highest insult 
which one Government can offer to another ? But Fort Sumter 
was never garrisoned at all until South Carolina had dissolved 
her connection with your Government. This garrison entered it 
at night, with every circumstance of secrecy, after spiking the guns 
and burning the gun-carriages, and cutting down the flag-staff of an 
adjacent fort, which was then abandoned. South Carolina had 
not taken Fort Sumter into her own possession, only because of 
her misplaced confidence in a Government which deceived her. A 
fortress occupied under the circumstances above stated, is consid- 
ered by you not only as no cause of irritation, but you represent 
it as held for our protection ! 

" Your Excellency's Secretary has indulged in irony on a very 
grave subject. As to the responsibility for consequences, if 
indeed, it does rest on us, I can assure your Excellency we are 
happily unconscious of the fact. 

" I return to Charleston to-morrow. With considerations of 
high regard, 

" I am, very respectfully, 

" J. W. Havne, 

" Special Envoy." 

The President thought that from the conduct of the envoy, he 
had evidently anticipated the fate of his letter; and upon the same 
day upon which it was received, he caused its return to him, hav- 
ing placed upon it the following endorsement: " The character 
of this letter is such that it cannot be received. Colonel Hayne 



234 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



having left the city before it was sent to the President, it is returned 
to him by the first mail." 

The President retained no copy of the letter, nor did he again 
hear of it. 



CHAPTER XX. 

President embarrassed by Major Anderson's " truce" — Determines to respect 
it— Considers that his instructions should have guided Major Anderson — 
Upon departure of the envoy new expedition resolved upon — Members of 
the Cabinet interested in relief to Sumter — Letter of Judge Black, Secre- 
tary of State, to Lieutenant-General Scott — General Scott does not res- 
pond — Later, Judge Black addresses the President, Reviews the situation^ 
Urges decision of some policy in regard to Sumter — Ex-President John 
Tyler a Commissioner from the Peace Convention of Virginia, arrives in 
Washington— President sends his Secretary of State, in anticipation of his 
visit, to call upon him — The interview — President declines to become a 
party to proposed agreement — Transmits message to Congress on January 
28, with the resolutions of the Virginia Convention —Congress ignores 
his recommendations— Subject dropped— Commissioner to South Carolina 
presents Virginia resolutions to the Legislature — Coldly received — 
Governor Pickens opposed — General Assembly declines to enter into 
negotiations— Commissioners continue their efforts — Ex-President Tyler 
telegraphs to Governor Pickens — Explains position of the President — Reply 
of Governor — Reports of interviews to relieve Sumter — Reports also of its 
immediate seizure by the State— Governor telegraphs to Montgomery, 
asking that a commander-in-chief be appointed — Meeting of Cabinet in 
Washington to determine upon plan of relief to Sumter — Details of plan — 
Additional proposition of Captain G. V. Fox — Its detail —General Scott 
approves preparations made — President changes his mind— He determines 
to respect the appeal made by Virginia — Will not precipitate a crisis — 
Astonishment and disappointment of General Scott — His subsequent letter 
to the incoming President — President Buchanan's statement— Captain Fox 
again urges his plan. 

The action of Major Anderson in referring the demand for 
the surrender of Fort Sumter to Washington, and the establish- 
ment, in consequence, of a "truce" until the return of the mes- 
sengers, occasioned surprise and embarrassment to the President. 
He thought that Major Anderson had thus placed it out of his 
power to ask for reinforcements, and also beyond the power of 
the Govc"nment to send them until the President " should again 
decide agau:st the surrender of the fort." Although the President 

23s 



236 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

might have annulled the truce, it would have cast, as he thought, 
a " serious reflection" upon Major Anderson for having con- 
cluded it, and he therefore determined to respect it. But he at 
the same time thought that his instructions would have justified 
Anderson in " peremptorily informing" the messengers of the 
Governor that he would not surrender the fort, but would defend 
it, and that such action upon his part would have been in accord- 
ance with the ''explicit determination" of the President, as 
announced to the South Carolina Commissioners. 

From his letters and reports to the War Department, it was 
confidently believed that Major Anderson felt himself to be 
wholly equal to his position, and although the President and his 
Cabinet had determined that reinforcements should be made 
ready, and promptly sent to him in case of need, they were at 
this time under no immediate anxiety as to his safety. 

But with the departure of the envoy, the President felt that 
he was no longer bound by the obligation imposed by the " truce," 
and he proceeded to put on foot an expedition for immediately 
reinforcing Fort Sumter, and in regard to which a council con- 
sisting of the Secretaries of War and the Navy, accompanied by 
General Scott, had been requested to meet the President on the 
30th of January, the day upon which the demand of the Govern- 
ment for the surrender of Fort Sumter had been made upon him. 

But the subject of reinforcing Fort Sumter immediately had 
earnestly engaged the attention of certain members of the Cabinet 
whose influence with the President was potential. 

On the 1 6th of January, six or seven days after the firing 
upon and repulse of the Star of the West, the Secretary of State 
Judge Black, addressed to Lieutenant-General Scott a letter in 
which, while deferring to his better judgment in " such a matter," 
and informing him that while his opinion would be conclusive 
upon him, he yet desired more clearly to understand the subject, 
in view of his own responsibilities ; and in a communication of 
singular clearness and power he reviews the position of Major 
Anderson in Fort Sumter, the necessary steps to his relief, the 
comparatively trifling character of the obstacles existing, and 
presents in strong light the unmistakable and immediate duty of 
the Government ; and if he should have erred in the views he 
presents, he asks that the General-in-Chief should correct him. 
This important and almost unknown letter is given in full : 



SECRETARY OF STATE TO LIEUT. -GEN. SCOTT. 



237 



"Department of State, January 16, 1861. 
"Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott : 

" Dear General : The habitual frankness of your character, 
the deep interest you take in everything that concerns the public 
defense, your expressed desire that I should hear and understand 
your views — these reasons, together with an earnest wish to know 
my own duty and to do it, induce me to beg you for a little light, 
which perhaps you alone can shed, upon the present state of our 
affairs. 

" I. Is it the duty of the Government to re-enforce Major 
Anderson ? 

" 2. If yes, how soon is it necessary that those re-enforce- 
ments should be there ? 

"3. What obstacles exist to prevent the sending of such 
re-enforcements at any time when it may be necessary to do so ? 

"I trust you will not regard it as presumption in me if I give 
you the crude notions which I myself have already formed out of 
very imperfect materials. 

"A statement of my errors, if errors they be, will enable you 
to correct them the more easily. 

'' I. It seems now to be settled that Major Anderson and his 
command at Fort Sumter are not to be withdrawn. The United 
States Government is not to surrender its last hold upon its own 
property in South Carolina. Major Anderson has a position so 
nearly impregnable that an attack upon him at present is wholly 
improbable, and he is supplied with provisions which will last him 
very well for two months. In the meantime Fort Sumter is 
invested on every side by the avowedly hostile forces of South 
Carolina. It is in a state of seige. They have already prevented 
communication between its commander and his own Government, 
both by sea and land. There is no doubt that they intend to 
continue this state of things, as far as it is in their power to do 
so. In the course of a few weeks from this time it will become 
very difficult for him to hold out. The constant labor and 
anxiety of his men will exhaust their physical power, and this 
exhaustion, of course, will proceed very much more rapidly as 
soon as they begin to get short of provision. 

" If the troops remain in Fort Sumter without any change in 
their condition, and the hostile attitude of South Carolina remains 
as it is now, the question of Major Anderson's surrender is one of 
time only. If he is not to be relieved, is it not entirely clear that 
he should be ordered to surrender at once ? It having been 
determined that the latter order shall not be given, it follows that 
relief must be sent him at some time before it is too late to 
save him. 

" II. This brings me to the second question : When should the 
re-enforcements and provisions be sent ? Can we justify our- 
selves in delaying the performance of that duty ? 



238 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

" The authorities of South Carolina are improving every 
moment, and increasing their ability to prevent re-enforcement 
every hour, while every day that rises sees us with a power dimin- 
ished to send in the requisite relief. I think it certain that Major 
Anderson could be put in possession of all the defensive powers 
he needs with very little risk to this Government, if the efforts 
were made immediately; but it is impossible to predict how much 
blood or money it may cost if it be postponed for two or three 
months. 

" The fact that other persons are to have charge of the Gov- 
ernment before the worst comes to the worst has no influence 
upon my mind, and, I take it for granted, will not be regarded as 
a just element in making up your opinion. 

" The anxiety which an American citizen must feel about any 
future event which may affect the existence of the country, is not 
less if he expects it to occur on the 5th of March than it would 
be if he knew it was going to happen on the 3d. 

III. I am persuaded that the difificulty of relieving Major 
Anderson has been very much magnified to the minds of some 
persons. From you I shall be able to ascertain whether I am 
mistaken or they. I am thoroughly satisfied that the battery on 
Morris Island can give no serious trouble. A vessel going in 
where the Star of the IVest went will not be within the reach of 
the battery's guns longer than from six to ten minutes. The 
number of shots that could be fired upon her in that time may be 
easily calculated, and I think the chances of her being seriously 
injured can be demonstrated, by simple arithmetic, to be very 
small. A very unlucky shot might cripple her, to be sure, and 
therefore the risk is something. But then it is a maxim, not less 
in war than in peace, that where nothing is ventured nothing can 
be gained. The removal of the buoys has undoubtedly made 
the navigation of the channel more difficult. But there are 
pilots outside of Charleston, and many of the officers of the Navy, 
who could steer a ship into the harbor by the natural landmarks 
with perfect safety. This, be it remembered, is not now a subject 
of speculation; the actual experiment has been tried. 7'he Star 
of the JFest did pass the battery, and did overcome the difficulties 
of the navigation, meeting with no serious trouble from either 
cause. They have tried it; we can say ^prodatum est; and there 
is an end to the controversy. 

*' I am convinced that a pirate, or a slaver, or a smuggler, who 
could be assured of making five hundred dollars by going into 
the harbor in the face of all the dangers which now threaten a 
vessel bearing the American flag, would laugh them to scorn, and 
to one of our naval officers who has the average of daring, ' the 
danger's self were lure alone! ' 

"There really seems to me nothing in the way that ought to 
stop us except the guns of Fort Moultrie. If they are suffered to 



HIS LETTER CONTINUED. 



239 



open a fire upon a vessel bearing re-enforcements to Fort Sumter, 
they might stop any other vessel as they stopped the Star of the 
West. But is it necessary that this intolerable outrage should be 
submitted to ? Would it not be an act of pure self-defense on 
the part of Major Anderson to silence Fort Moultrie, if it be 
necessary to do so, for the purpose of insuring the safety of a 
vessel whose arrival at Fort Sumter is necessary for his protec- 
tion, and could he not do it effectually ? Would the South Caro- 
linians dare to fire upon any vessel which Major Anderson would 
tell them beforehand must be permitted to pass, on pain of his 
guns being opened upon her assailants ? But suppose it impossi- 
ble for an unarmed vessel to pass the battery, what is the diffi- 
culty of sending the Brooklyn or the Macedonian in ? I have 
never heard it alleged that the latter could not cross the bar, and 
I think if the fact had been so it would have been mentioned in 
my hearing before this time. It will turn out upon investigation, 
after all that has been said and sung about the Brooklyn, that 
there is water enough there for her. She draws ordinarily only 
sixteen and one-half feet, and her draught can be reduced eight- 
een inches by putting her upon an even keel. The shallowest 
place will give her eighteen feet of water at high tide. In point 
of fact, she has crossed that bar more than once. But apart even 
from these resources, the Government has at its command three 
or four smaller steamers of light draught and great speed, which 
could be armed and at sea in a few days, and would not be in the 
least troubled by any opposition that could be made to their 
entrance. 

"It is not, however, necessary to go into the details, with 
which, I presume, you are fully acquainted. I admit that the 
state of things may be somewhat worse now than they were a 
week ago, and are probably getting worse every day; but is not 
that the strongest reason that can be given for taking time by 
the forelock ? 

'■'■ I feel confident that you will excuse me for making this 
communication. I have some responsibilities of my own to meet, 
and I can discharge them only when I understand the subject to 
which they relate. Your opinion, of course, will be conclusive 
upon me, for on such a matter I cannot do otherwise than defer 
to your better judgment. If you think it most consistent with 
your duty to be silent, I shall have no right to complain. 

" If you would rather answer orally than make a written reply, 
I will meet you either at your own quarters or here in the State 
Department, as may best suit your convenience. 

" I am, most respectfully, yours, &c., 

"J. S. Black." 

This communication of Judge Black, from its able grasp of 



240 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



the military situation and its earnest view of the plain duty of 
the Government, is, in view of its source, remarkable. 

To this communication of the Secretary of State, General Scott 
made the following endorsement: "Lieutenant-General Scott 
received the Hon. Mr. Black's most interesting communication 
yesterday, at too late an hour and in the midst of too perplexing 
engagements to attend to it. The moment he is released by the 
War Department this morning. General Scott will seek Mr. 
Black, and repeat his efforts till he has had the pleasure of finding 
him at the Department of State Thursday morning.* 

But the General-in-Chief did not meet the Secretary, nor was 
there any official reply or notice, upon his part, or of the Secre- 
tary's letter, f 

The subject, however, and its increasing complications, was 
the constant theme of discussion in the Cabinet now working in 
harmony. On the 2 2d of January, the day upon which the 
President,/ through his Secretary of War, had communicated to 
the Senators of the seceding States his intention in regard to 
reinforcing Fort Sumter, a Cabinet meeting was held. Prevented 
by sickness from being present, the Secretary of State addressed 
a letter to the President in regard to the prospective deliberation. 
His communication was not to be laid before the heads of 
Departments, but was for the eye of the President alone. He 
warns the President that they had been grossly imposed upon 
recently, by statements that the reinforcement of the forts would 
result in civil war, an idea now ridiculed ; that there was a large 
military force in Charleston; that Fort Sumter could not be 
occupied; that the Brooklyn could not cross the bar, and that no 
ship could pass the battery on Morris Island; and that South 
Carolina would not make war upon -us if we were weak, but would, 
should we make ourselves strong. And the Secretary urged upon 
the President that these things, being taken for true, led to disas- 
trous consequences, to the discredit of the administration and 
even the Union itself. 



* From the original paper of General Scott. 

t Shortly afterward, the Secretary and General-in-Chief met casually, 
when the latter complimented the Secretary upon his letter, and said that it was 
worthy of a Field-Marshal. "Judge Black," he asked, "where did you get 
your military education?" Judge Black replied, "I was first lieutenant of 
the Bloody Mountain Cavalry in Somerset County." 



SEC. OFSTA TE ADDRESSES THE PRESIDENT. 24 1 

His letter was as follows: 

Franklin Row, January 22, 1861. 

"My dear Mr. President: A slight attack of rheumatism 
will prevent me from leaving my room to-day, and of course I 
shall not be at the Cabinet meeting. But the deep interest I feel 
in the result of your deliberations induces me to write this note, 
not to be laid before the heads of Departments, but for your own 
eye alone. If I am wrong in my interpretation of the past or in 
my expectations concerning the future, you can correct me as 
well as anybody else, and if I am right the suggestions I make 
may possibly be of some value. 

"You must be aware that the possession of this city is 
absolutely essential to the ultimate designs of the Secessionists. 
They can establish a Southern Confederacy with the Capital of 
the Union in their hands, and without it all the more important 
part of their scheme is bound to fail. If they can take it and do 
not take it, they are fools. Knowing them, as I do, to be men of 
ability and practical good sense, not likely to omit that which is 
necessary to forward the ends which they are aiming at, I take it 
for granted that they have their eye fixed upon Washington. To 
prove their desire to take it requires no evidence at all beyond 
the intrinsic probability of the fact itself. The affirmative pre- 
sumption is so strong that he who denies it is bound to establish 
the negative. But there are additional and very numerous cir- 
cumstances tending to show that a conspiracy to that effect has 
been actually formed, and that large numbers of persons are 
deeply and busily engaged in bringing the plot to a head at what 
they conceive to be the proper time. I do not mean now to 
enumerate all the facts. They form a body of circumstantial 
evidence that is overwhelming and irresistible. I know that you 
do not believe this, or did not when I saw you last. Your incre- 
dulity seemed then to be founded upon the assurances of certain 
outside persons in whom you confided, that nothing of that kind 
was in contemplation. The mere opinion of those persons is 
worth nothing apart from their own personal knowledge. They 
can have no personal knowledge unless they are themselves apart 
of the conspiracy. In the latter case fidelity to their fellows 
makes treachery to you a sort of moral necessity. In short, the 
mere declarations of uninformed persons who are not in the 
secrets of the Secessionists amount to very little, and well- 
informed persons who are admitted to their counsels can hardly 
be expected to communicate their schemes to the head of the 
nation. 

" Suppose it to be doubtful whether any hostile intentions 
against the Capital are entertained, what is the duty of the 
administration? Shall we be prepared for the worst, or leave 
the public interests unguarded, so that the ' logic of events ' may 
demonstrate our folly ? Preparation can do no possible harm in 



242 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



any event, and in the event which to me seems most likely, it is 
the country's only chance of salvation. 

" Let us not forget the lessons we have learned in the past 
three months. The gross impostures practiced upon us recently 
ought to make us very slow about believing assurances or taking 
advice which comes from the enemies of the Union. Ti7neo 
Danaos. They told us that civil war would be the result of man- 
ning the forts at Charleston. Now they laugh at all who believed 
that prophecy. They told us about the eight regiments of artil- 
lery in South Carolina; the twenty thousand other troops; the bat- 
tery that could take Castle Pinckney; the impossibility of occupy- 
ing Fort Sumter; that the Brooklyn was the only ship of war fit 
to be sent down there, and that she could not cross the bar; that 
the little battery on Morris Island would prevent a ship from 
going up the channel; that South Carolina would not make war 
upon us if we were weak, but would if we should make ourselves 
strong — all these things were taken for true, and you know how 
disastrous the consequences were, not merely to the credit of the 
administration, but to the Union itself, 

" 'Upon vi'\\o%& property and most dear life a damn'd defeat was made.' 

" I understand that the Secretary of the Navy has promised 
the Secessionists that he will withdraw the ships from the Florida 
and Alabama harbors. I hope and believe that he has no author- 
ity from you to make such promise: and if he has done it of his 
own head, I am sure he will receive a signal rebuke. You know 
how much I honor and respect Toucey, but I confess I find it a 
little difficult to forgive him for letting it be understood that the 
Brooklyn could not get into the harbor of Charleston; and the 
order which he gave to that ship, by which her commander felt 
himself compelled, after he was in sight of Fort Sumter, not to 
go in, is making this Government the laughter and derision of 
the world. 

" I hope it will soon be decided what our policy is to be, with 
reference to the relief of Major Anderson. There certainly 
would be no hurry about it, if it were not for the fact that the 
South Carolinians are increasing their means of resistance every 
day, and this increase may be such as to make delay fatal to his 
safety. But how that is I do not pretend to know at present. 
Certainly, however, the facts ought to be ascertained. 

" In the forty days and forty nights yet remaining to this 
administration, responsibilities may be crowded greater than 
those which are usually incident to four years in more quiet 
times. I solemnly believe that you can hold this revolution in 
check, and so completely put the calculations of its leaders out 
of joint that it will subside after a time into peace and harmony. 
On the other hand, by leaving the Government an easy prey, the 
spoilers will be tempted beyond their power of resistance, and 
they will get such an advantage as will bring upon the country a 



PEACE CONVENTION OF VIRGINIA. 243 

whole illiad of woes. The short ofificial race which yet remains 
to us, must be run before a cloud of witnesses, and to win we 
must cast aside every weight, and the sin of state-craft which 
doth so easily beset us, and look simply upon our duty and the 
performance of it as the only prize of our high calling. 

" I am free to admit that in this hasty note I may have been 
much mistaken. I do not claim to be more zealous in the public 
service nor more patriotic than my neighbors; certainly not wiser 
than my colleagues. To your better judgment I defer implicitly. 
But my absence from the Council to-day annoyed me, supposing, 
as I did, that some of the matters here referred to might be dis- 
cussed in it. I took this mode of saying what I probably would 
have said if I had been with you. 

" I am, most respectfully yours, etc. 
** The President," 

Meanwhile other influences had been at work. The General 
Assembly of Virginia had instituted the " Peace Convention," 
and by a concurrent vote had appointed Ex-President John Tyler 
a commissioner to the President of the United States, and Judge 
John Robertson to South Carolina and other seceding States, to 
request that, pending the proceedings of the Convention, they 
should abstain from all acts calculated to produce a collision of 
arms. When Ex-President Tyler arrived in Washington, the Presi- 
dent, in anticipation of his visit to him, requested his Secretary of 
State to call upon him informally. Accompanied by Mr. Stanton, 
Judge Black called upon the Ex-President. He found him 
anxious and excited. Scarcely were the ordinary greetings over 
when the Ex-President said: " What are you doing here with all 
these preparations; are you going to make war? Nothing could 
be more exciting to the Southern people than these preparations. 
I have come here for peace." The conversation was interrupted, 
and the visit soon after terminated, Judge Black thinking that 
what Mr. Tyler had to say had better, in his frame of mind, 
be said to the President himself.* 

On the 23d of January the Commissioners arrived inWashington, 
and upon the following day presented the resolution of Virginia 
to the President, urging upon him at the same time '* to become a 
party " to the proposed agreement. The President declined. He 
informed the Commissioner that he had in " no manner changed 
his views," that he could give no pledges; it was his duty to 



* Judge Black to writer. 



244 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



enforce the laws; and that the whole power rested with Congress. 
On the 28th of January he transmitted a message to Congress at 
the same time with the Virginia resolution. The same views 
in regard to the powers of the Executive that he had expressed 
to the Senators from the seceding States, and also to the envoy 
from the Governor of South Carolina, were repeated, and he again 
asserted that " defense, and not aggression " had been the policy 
of his administration from the beginning. That while he could 
not enter into the engagement as proposed, he cordially recom- 
mended to Congress to abstain from passing any law producing a 
collision of arms whilst the proceedings contemplated by the 
General Assembly of Virginia were in progress. But Congress 
took no action whatever in the matter, which impressed unfav- 
orably the people of Virginia. In the Senate the question of 
printing them was discussed until the 21st of February, when the 
subject was dropped, and in the House, after a motion " to refer 
and print " them, they were not again noticed. 

The Commissioner to South Carolina proceeded at once upon 
his mission, and on the 28th of January the Governor, m a mes- 
sage to the South Carolina Legislature, presented the resolutions 
of Virginia. The object of the resolutions was to induce the 
State to send on Commissioners to meet others from Virginia 
and from the other States who might agre^ to send them, on the 4th 
of February, at Washington, for the purpose of agreeing upon 
some suitable adjustment of the "great issues" made in the 
Confederacy. The proposition was coldly received by the authori- 
ties, and with violent feeling by the press. The Governor recalls the 
failure of Virginia to respond to a similar call made by South 
Carolina through a Commissioner sent by her, making an urgent ap- 
peal upon Virginia to step forward and "devise some plan upon which 
the States immediately concerned might act together," save their 
rights, and yet preserve the common Constitution as a blessing for 
all the States. Had this been done at that time, he thought, 
something might have been accomplished to secure new guarantees 
and protection in a common Union. A general indictment against 
the Northern States was recited by the Governor, who asserted 
that the result of the recent election was to put into power a 
party and a President," with open and avowed principles of deep 
and settled hostility " and pledged to the final extermination of 
institutions essential to them and to the peace of their society. 



RESOLUTIONS OF S. C. LEGISLATURE. 245 

With the most profound respect for the State of Virginia, he does 
not see how South Carolina could agree to send Commissioners 
to Washington to meet Commissioners from the Northern and 
Southern States, as it might result in only greater difficulty and 
confusion. But he submits the matter to the wisdom and decision 
of the Legislature, at the same time calling their attention to the 
fact that delegates had been appointed by the State Convention 
to meet on the 4th of February, with similar delegates appointed 
by other seceding States, He thought that it would thus "be 
obviously impolitic " to send delegates to Washington appointed 
for the same day to meet the States of the North, with any view 
to preserve or to reconstruct the Federal Union with them, when 
South Carolina had agreed first to meet the seceding States, to 
whom she owed her deepest obligation, and to whom she was 
bound by every tie to make no compromises until a separate and 
independent Union with them had been formed. 

The action of the South Carolina Legislature was immediate. On 
the 28th of January the Senate resolved, unanimously, while ac- 
knowledging the friendly motives which had inspired the mission to 
the State, that candor which was due to Virginia induced the Gen- 
eral Assembly to declare, with frankness, that they did not deem it 
advisable to " initiate negotiations, when they had no desire nor 
intention to promote the ultimate object in view," which was to 
procure " amendments or new guarantees to the Constitution of 
the United States;" that the separation of the State was final, 
and that she had no further interest in the Constitution of the 
United States, and that the only appropriate negotiations were as 
to their mutual relations as foreign States; that the most solemn 
pledges of the Government had been disregarded, and an attempt 
made to introduce troops into one of the forts, " concealed in the 
hold of a vessel of commerce," and with a view to the subjugation 
of the people of the State, and that another vessel with troops and 
munitions of war had been sent South " since the authorities at 
Washington had been informed of the present mediation of Vir- 
ginia."* 

Under these circumstances the General Assembly declined 
to enter into the proposed negotiations. These resolutions were 



* Resolutions of the Legislature, Executive Document No. 4. Governor's 
message and correspondence. Charleston, 1861. 



246 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

at once sent to the House of Representatives of South Carolina, 
and were concurred in by that body the same day. 

On the 29th of January, the Commissioner informed the 
Governor that the news of the sailing of the Brooklyn had 
determined him not to press a reply to his note; that it had 
been arranged between Ex-President Tyler and himself that they 
should endeavor to get from the Government at Washington and 
the authorities of the seceding States " mutual assurances " that 
would be reciprocally binding, that no act should be committed 
which was calculated to produce hostilities during the period 
indicated by Virginia. He had, on the 28th, received from 
Ex-President Tyler a despatch informing him that the President 
declined to give a written pledge, nor did he understand that he 
proposed to give a verbal one.* 

It seemed wholly unnecessary, under the circumstances — as 
the State has declined to send delegates — if not unreasonable, to 
make such request of the State. He considered his mission as 
terminated, but would willingly be the bearer of any response the 
State might see fit to make. 

On the same day, the Secretary of State of South Carolina, 
in inclosing a copy of the resolution passed by the General Assem- 
bly to the Commissioners, informs him that the refusal of the 
President was not unexpected by the Governor, and that he might 
now understand thoroughly the motives of the authorities of the 
State in not relying upon assurances. To that evidence it was not 
necessary for the Governor to add anything, and he was satisfied 
that fhe State of Virginia would receive his report in the proper 
spirit. 

But the Commissioner of Virginia to the President did not 
cease in his efforts to accomplish the object of his mission. 
Although some days had passed since the President had declined 
to enter into any pledges restricting his action in regard to Fort 
Sumter, the Commissioner on the 7th of February despatched 
to the Governor of South Carolina the following telegram: 

"Washington, 7th February. 
"To Governor Pickens: Can my voice reach you? If so, 
do not attack Fort Sumter. You know my sincerity. The 
Virginia delegates here earnestly unite. 

(Signed) "John Tyler." 



Executive Document No 4. Charleston, 1861. 



ACTION OF EX-PRESIDENT TYLER. 



247 



And again on the same date, to Judge Robertson, at Mont- 
gomery, Ala.: "Hayne has returned. Prevent, if possible, col- 
lision. It is of great importance to results here." 

The answer of the Governor was immediate. In consequence of 
the appeal of Virginia, he was willing to await the result as long as he 
could consistently, but while Sumter was held with a view to their 
subjugation, even Virginia would refuse. He would decide when 
he knew the exact grounds upon which the President acted. 

Not satisfied, however, with the response of the Governor, Mr. 
Tyler again telegraphed, on the 9th, that the President directed 
him to say that the letter to Colonel Hayne was designed to be 
both respectful and kind, and that he so considered it, but that 
he "complained much" of Colonel Hayne's last letter and mani- 
fested "great solicitude" on the point. And he repeats his inquiry 
as to the assurance to be given by the Governor that no attack 
should be made, provided that the President would give a like 
assurance that no reinforcements would be sent. 

On the same day, the Governor again responds. He acknowl- 
edges the receipt of the telegrams sent him, and says that the 
letter of Secretary Holt was then under consideration; that no 
pledge could be given unless officially informed of some proposal 
from the President, but that his course might be controlled by the 
direction given by the provisional Government at Montgomery, 
should they assume such direction in reference to Fort Sumter; 
and that everything that could consistently be done to avoid col- 
lision and bloodshed would be the purpose of the authorities in 
South Carolina. 

On the 1 8th of February, Mr Tyler again telegraphs to 
Governor Pickens. He informs him that the President is 
startled by information, considered to be reliable, and coming 
indirectly from a former Member of Congress from South Caro- 
lina, assuring him that Fort Sumter would be taken on or before 
the 4th of March, "without reference to what the Montgomery 
Government might advise or order on the subject;" and Mr. 
Tyler asks that the Government would quiet the President by his 
reply. 

Meantime, the Governor was kept constantly advised of what 
was transpiring in Washington in reference to Fort Sumter. On 
the 20th of February, Senator Wigfall telegraphed to him as follows: 
'■'■ Attempt to reinforce Anderson by stealth at night in small 



248 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

boats determined." And such information, oftentimes mistaken, 
was sent constantly to Charleston. 

The Governor had long felt the weight of the responsibility 
resting upon him and the necessity for action, and towards the 
close of February he sent the following telegram to the Confederate 
Secretary of the Treasury at Montgomery: 

" Received your telegram to-day. But am sure if you do not 
act immediately and appoint a commander-in-chief to take 
charge, it will be too late. Act quickly, now, or I shall be com- 
pelled to act. Send your Commissioners on to Washington now, 
right off, and telegraph me, or it will be beyond your control. 
Things look bad in Washington. " F. W. P." 

The mission of Mr. Hayne had terminated in such fashion 
that the Governor sent a message to the House of Representa- 
tives on the 19th of January, saying that as the Convention had 
expressly reserved to itself the power to make treaty and to 
declare war, the final report of Hayne might render it proper for 
him to reconvene the Convention. Meantime, the question of 
reinforcing Fort Sumter was under constant discussion in the 
Cabinet at Washington. A council consisting of Secretaries Holt 
and Toucey, Lieutenant General-Scott, and Commander Ward 
of the Navy, after several consultations, had, with the knowledge 
of the President, determined upon a plan approved by General 
Scott, which seemed to offer the best chances of success. It 
was to be quietly prepared under the direction of the Secretary 
of the Navy; it was to consist of four small steamers to be 
borrowed from the Treasury Department, and was to sail from 
New York under the command of Commander Ward of the Navy, 
an intimate friend of the Secretary. This officer was empowered 
to select his officers and men, and the expedition was to sail the 
following night after the receipt of the telegram from the Secre- 
tary directing the movement. He was to enter the harbor of 
Charleston in the night and anchor under the guns of Fort 
Sumter, if possible. 

Another proposition for the relief of Sumter was made by 
Captain Gustavus V. Fox, who early in January, after the result 
of the expedition of the 3tar of the West had become known, had 
submitted a plan in writing, for the relief of Fort Sumter, to a 
friend of Lieutenant-General Scott, to whom it was shown, and 
who at once gave it his approval, 



CAPTAIN FOX'S PLAN OF RELIFF. 



249 



Captain Fox had been an officer of the Navy for nineteen 
years. A thorough and accomplished sailor, he had early seen 
the necessity of prompt and vigorous action, and he submitted a 
plan of relief which, had it been promptly resorted to, would at 
that time have had every chance of success. The sole reward 
asked by Captain Fox was to be assigned to the command of the 
expedition. His plan was at once simple and efficient. The 
troops and provisions were to be placed on board a large sea 
steamer, preferably the Collins steamer Baltic^ which was to 
carry three hundred extra sailors and enough armed launches to 
land all the troops in one night. Two powerful light-draught tug- 
boats, their machinery protected by cotton-bales or hay, which 
would shield it from grape or fragments of shells, were to be 
used to transport the troops and provisions from the bar; the men 
below, the provisions on deck. The whole to be convoyed by the 
United States sloop of war Pawnee, drawing twelve feet of water 
and carrying seven guns, the only available steam vessel north of 
the Gulf of Mexico. As a steamer, she was a failure, but 
Captain Fox thought she might answer in the emergency, as she 
was " unfortunately the only resource." She was to protect the 
transports and tugs from any attack of the enemy, and to serve 
as a base of operations. The batteries were to be run at night 
by the tugs, and the barbette guns of the work were relied upon 
to keep the channel between the islands free from hostile vessels 
while entering. If perfectly calm, boats were to be used. The 
plan of Captain Fox was also endorsed by Mr. G. W. Blunt, Mr. 
Chas. H. Marshall and Russell Sturgis of New York, and Mr. 
Marshall agreed to furnish or provision the vessels without pub- 
licity. 

On the 4th of February Captain Fox was summoned to 
Washington by General Scott by telegram, as he had also been by 
letter that failed to reach him. The whole subject was fully 
discussed in the General's presence on the following day. The 
proposition made by Lieutenant N. J. Hall, one of Major 
Anderson's officers, who had been sent to Washington by Major 
Anderson after the demand for the surrender of the fort on the 
nth of January, that a steamer should go in protected by a vessel 
on each side loaded with hay, was pronounced impracticable. 

The plan of Captain Fox was approved by General Scott, who 
presented him to the Secretary of War on the 7th of February, 



250 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



to whom Captain Fox explained his project and who agreed to 
submit it to the President that evening. On the 20th of February 
Lieutenant-General Scott directed his aide-de-camp in New York 
(Lieutenant-Colonel H. L. Scott) to put himself into communi- 
cation with Commander Ward, to see what recruits and what 
stores he would want, and to see that everything was supplied for 
Major Anderson's needs. At the same time, a memorandum made 
by Lieutenant Hall, of the articles required at Fort Sumter, was 
sent to Colonel Scott with directions to supply them, and as large 
a supply of subsistence as Commander Ward could take. All 
was prepared and the expedition made ready for sea. But 
Mr. Buchanan had again changed his purpose. On the 8th the 
news of the formation of a provisional Government at Montgomery 
by the seceding States had reached Washington. While the 
President declined to enter mto any pledges in regard to the 
sending of reinforcements to Fort Sumter, he considered " the 
truce " established by Major Anderson as binding, and as restrain- 
ing him from sending such reinforcements. He determined also 
to respect the appeal made by the General Assembly of Virginia. 
The negotiations between the envoy and the Government were yet 
in progress, and Major Anderson had not asked for reinforcements, 
and the authorities of the State seemed equally inclined to suspend 
immediate action. He therefore deemed it to be his duty to 
refrain from any action which might precipitate a crisis, and the 
expedition under Commander Ward, which had been determined 
upon, was in consequence not sent. This determination of the 
President was the cause of "great disappointment and astonish- 
ment" to General Scott, who so expressed himself to Captain Fox 
on the 8th of February. General Scott believed that up to the 
12th of February it was easy to relieve Fort Sumter, and that the 
expedition of Commander Ward would have been successful, and 
that he would have been able to reach Sumter ** with all his ves- 
sels." In a communication to the mcoming President on the 3d of 
March, it was stated by General Scott that the expedition under 
Commander Ward " was kept back" by something like a truce or 
armistice, which was established between President Buchanan and 
the "principal seceders," and which lasted until the end of 
Mr. Buchanan's administration. To this the President took 
exception, and asserted that the truce was made by Major 
Anderson himself, and that it expired on the 5 th of February, when 



CAPTAIN FOX URGES HIS PLAN. 



251 



the Secretary of War, Mr. Holt, announced to the South Carolina 
Commissioner, Mr. Hayne, the refusal of the President to sur- 
render Fort Sumter under any circumstances.* The President 
characterized the strictures of General Scott as " unfounded and 
unjust." In his communication no reference is made by General 
Scott to the existence of the truce between Major Anderson and 
the Governor of South Carolina.* 

On the 2 1 St of February it was announced in the public press 
that it was determined by the Government to relieve Fort Sumter 
by boats at night, although in a telegram to a friend Lieutenant- 
General Scott had expressed his belief that this plan of Captain 
Fox had been ''adjourned." 

This statement was made the subject of a communication to 
the Hon. Montgomery Blair by his relative, Captain Fox, in which 
the impracticability of the plan by open boats, its danger and the 
publicity given to it, were shown. It would now be anticipated, 
and he renews and specifies more particularly his own proposition. 

On. the Tst of March it was discovered that the Charleston 
authorities had opened negotiations in New York for the pur- 
chase of two of the same tugboats that Captain Fox had selected 
as the only suitable ones for the work in the city, and he 
thought that the probability of the reinforcement of Fort Sumter 
would be greatly lessened by this action. The tugs had been put 
in order, although his plan had been suspended, but relying upon 
the endorsement of General Scott, Captain Fox again urged the 
consideration of hjs plan. 



* " Buchanan's Administration." 



CHAPTER XXI. 

President Buchanan's views as to the coercive powers of the Government — Con- 
gress meets — President's message of December 2— Review of the political 
situation— Recommendations — Denies any danger to Southern rights -No 
right as President to decide re'ations between Government and State-- 
Secession not the right of a State — Congress no constitutional right to 
coerce State attempting Secession — Recommends "explanatory amend- 
ment," recognizing property in slaves and their protection in the Terri- 
tories—Message disappoints Southern leaders —Congress neglects to act — 
President rends special message on January 8— Reiterates his position and 
views— Reasons for not reinforcing Major Anderson — ^Jefferson Davis's 
opinion of the message— Senate refuse to confirm Collector for Charleston, 
S. C. — Crittenden amendment — Endorsed by the President— Amended by 
wholly different resolution— Original proposition defeated— Peace Conven- 
tion of Virginia -Efforts to effect a settlement — Series of amendments 
offered — Propositions made — Mr. Critttenden adopts a proposition in pref- 
erence to his own — Senate rejects it — Cotton States pass ordinances of 
Secession — Seize the public property — Congress relies upon time and the 
incoming administration. 

A DISCIPLE of the school of Madison and of Jackson, the 
President believed that the union of the States could not be pre- 
served by the mere exertion of the coercive powers confided to 
the General Government, and he felt it to be his duty, as it was 
his earnest wish, to exert all of his constitutional as well as his 
personal power to avert the danger so imminently threatening 
the nation. 

Congress had met on the 2d of December, and to it he trans- 
mitted a carefully prepared message, in which he reviews the 
actual political situation, and makes certain recommendations for 
its action.* He asserts that " the long-continued and intemperate 
interference of the Northern people with slavery in the South had 
produced its natural effect;" that the sovereign States of the 
South were alone responsible for the existence of slavery within 
their limits; and that the North was not responsible, and had no 
right to interfere. He denies that the rights of the South are in 

* President's message, December, i860. 

252 



PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. 



253 



danger, and afifirms that Congress had never at any time, by legis- 
lation, impaired in the slightest degree " the rights of the South 
to their property in slaves, nor their equal rights in the Territories 
to hold such property; that the action of different State Legisla- 
tures to defeat the execution of the Fugitive-slave law, was uncon- 
stitutional, and thus null and void; but that the Southern States 
had a right to demand the repeal of these " obnoxious enact- 
ments," and if refused, the injured States, after using all peaceful 
means or redress, would be justified in ** revolutionary resistance." 

He claims that, as the Executive, he had no power to decide 
the relations which should exist between the Federal Government 
and South Carolina, much less to acknowledge its independence; 
that while a State had no right to secede from the Union at its 
pleasure, Congress had no constitutional power to coerce such 
State which was attempting to withdraw or had actually with- 
drawn from the Union. 

He argues, too, that the property of the United States in South 
Carolina had been bought with the consent of the Legislature of 
the State, and that the Constitution of the United States gave to 
it executive control; that he did not believe that any forcible 
attempt would be made against that property, but that if such 
should be made, the officer in charge had orders to act defen- 
sively.* And he recommends, as the one mode of arresting the 
" headlong career " of the cotton States, that an explanatory 
amendment be presented to the States, recognizing their property 
in slaves, protecting that right in the Territories, while Territories, 
under the decision of the Supreme Court. 

In regard to the performance of his duty, in whole or in part, 
under the acts of 1795 ^"^ iSo7> it was rendered nugatory by the 
demolition of the whole machinery of the Federal Government 
necessary for the distribution of remedial justice, and that it 
would be difficult if not impossible to replace it, but that he 
should collect the revenue and defend the public property against 
all assaults. The position assumed by the President in his mes- 
sage, and for which the country had so anxiously waited, gave 



* No money was paid for the forts or sites for forts in South Carolina, and 
this statement of the President gave rise to much comment both in and out of 
Congress. After the cession of the forts in 1805, South Carolina advanced 
money to assist in making repairs upon Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney. — 
Charleston Mercury, December 22, 1S60. 



2 54 ^-^-^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

rise to very diverse sentiments. It satisfied neither of the great 
parties now definitely formed in the country. The Southern 
leaders in Washington became reserved in their intercourse with 
the President, at learning his views on the right of secession; and 
although his course had hitherto met their approval and they had 
implicitly trusted him to act in their interest, his message disap- 
pointed them, as not going far enough in the direction of their 
views, and one by one they left him, until his refusal to restore 
the status by the return of Anderson to Fort Moultrie severed all 
relations with him at once and finally. The ground laid down by 
the President in his message of the 3d of December, while deny- 
ing the right of secession to the State, and denying equally the 
right of the General Government to coerce a State, was popularly 
but erroneously attributed to the Attorney- General, Judge Black, 
who, however, was not the writer of it. The sentiments of the 
message of the 8th of January, however, expressed the views of 
the Attorney-General, which were adopted by the President. 

Meantime, Congress was in daily session, but it seemed to be 
impossible to obtain its consent to any measure, either upon the 
recommendation of the President or as originating among them- 
selves, which would meet the impending revolution by concilia- 
tory measures or oppose it by force. 

Impatient at the delay, recognizing the fact that the cotton 
States were following each other into secession, and conscious of 
his own want of power, either to check or prevent it, the Presi- 
dent again, on the 8th of January, addressed a special message 
to Congress, reciting the actual condition of affairs as in a worse 
state that at the time of his first message. 

He states that " recent reflections " had only confirmed him 
in the conviction that no State had a right by its own act to 
secede from the Union; that he, as the President, had no power 
to recognize the exercise of such right even if it existed, and that 
neither he nor Congress had any right to make war upon a State, 
but that the military force might be used defensively against 
those who resisted federal officers or who assailed the Govern- 
ment property ; that the power and the responsibilities to make 
war or to secure peace rested with Congress alone. A delay to adopt 
some practical proposition to conciliate, might render any adjust- 
ment impossible. And he concludes by stating that he had deter- 
mined that no act of his should contribute to the excitement; that 



NON-A C TION OF CONGRESS, 255 

his purpose was not to commence a civil war, nor even to furnish an 
excuse for it, and that he had thus "refrained" from reinforcing 
Major Anderson in Charleston Harbor, lest it might be unjustly 
regarded as a menace of m litary coercion, and especially as " no 
necessity for these reinforcements seemed to exist." 

In this special message the important correspondence between 
the President and the South Carolina Commissioners was sub- 
mitted. 

The President's message contained nothing new, and it was 
considered by Senator Jefferson Davis, as stated in his speech the 
following day, as containing very little indeed beyond that which 
the world, less indeed than reading men generally, knew before it 
was communicated. And he characterized the message of 
December as one from which " it was not within the power of 
man to reach any fixed conclusion." 

By a singular omission in the only act passed by Congress 
involvmg the question, that of 1795, '^o provision was made to 
resist insurrection against the General Government upon the part 
of the States. Even this important consideration received no 
attention from Congress during its entire session. A bill enab- 
ling the President to call out the militia for the purpose of 
retaking the forts already seized, or that might hereafter be 
seized, was presented to the House of Representatives, but 
immediately withdrawn and recommitted, and not again referred to. 

On the 1 8th of February a bill was introduced, extending the 
powers of the President to employ the militia in suppressing 
insurrection against the Government, and to accept volunteers. 
It made no provision for repossessing the forts, and its considera- 
tion was purposely postponed until too late to be acted upon, and 
it was thus defeated; and this action only too plainly demon- 
strated to what an extent the United States Senate was affected 
by the secession sentiment. The Senate neglected to confirm the 
nomination of a collector of customs for the port of Charleston, 
S. C, Senator Jefferson Davis having played a conspicuous part 
in preventing any action. Nor was any measure looking to the 
collection of the revenue outside of the closed ports by means of 
the Navy considered or passed during the entire session. 

It was not denied that the President was powerless. No one 
claimed that he could, by virtue of his office, make war, or that, 
without additional and special legislation, he could properly or 



256 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

efficiently act; and yet the Congress of 1860-61 simply and per- 
sistently refused to pass any act, or to adopt any resolution, either 
to preserve the Union by peaceful measures or to grant to the 
Executive the power of aggression, or to increase and define his 
power of defense. 

The " Crittenden amendment," which was a proposition to 
recognize the existence of slavery in the Territories south of the 
old Missouri Compromise line, was introduced early in the 
session. It forbade any interference with slavery by Congress in 
such Territories, and left the question of its continuance to be 
decided by the Constitution of the new State, formed from 
such Territory, upon its admission as a State into the Union. 
The compromise thus offered seemed to meet the approval of 
a large majority of those who still clung to the Union of the 
States. 

It was, however, rejected by the committee to whom it was 
referred, who reported on the 31st of December that they had not 
been able to agree upon any plan of adjustment. It tolerated 
slavery in New Mexico, and no Republican supported it at any tinie. 
But the patriotic author of the proposition was not discouraged, 
and he substituted for it a joint resolution referring his amend- 
ment to a direct vote of the people. Although this seemed to 
meet popular approbation, and received also the endorsement of 
the President, its consideration was again and again postponed, 
and when finally introduced, after much opposition, it was so 
amended by the substitution of another and wholly different reso- 
lution, in accordance with the Chicago platform, that the original 
proposition was destroyed by it, and the substitute was carried by 
the fact that six Northern Senators had failed to vote against it. 
And at the end of the session the original proposition itself, when 
presented, was defeated upon a direct vote. 

Meantime, the Peace Convention called by Virginia, in a noble 
effort to adjust the difficulties and to preserve the Union, had 
met at Richmond on the 4th of February. It was composed of 
commissioners from States North and South that were willing to 
unite in an effort to preserve the Union. The hopes of every 
patriot were turned to it, and it was felt that nothing remained 
but a rupture of the Union, should it fail to accomplish its object. 
But the cotton States had already separated themselves from the 
Union, and were about to form a provisional Government of their 



COTTON STA TES SECEDE. 2^ J 

own. After much discussion and the loss of valuable time, a 
series of amendments were reported of the same tenor and pur- 
pose, with the compromise measures proposed by Mr. Crittenden, 
save that it limited the provisions to the present Territories. 

This amendment was at once communicated to Congress, and 
an effort made by the Commissioners in charge of it to induce 
the Senate, by joint resolution, to propose it as an amendment to 
the Constitution. This failed of accomplishment, when Mr. 
Crittenden adopted it in preference to his own proposition, and 
in consideration of its origin, offered it to the Senate, which 
rejected it by a large majority. 

The House of R.epresentatives refused to permit its Speaker 
to present the Amendment proposed by the Convention for its 
consideration, and no copy of it appears upon its Journal. I'he 
fate of the original proposition of this earnest statesman has been 
already seen, and Congress finally adjourned without passing a 
single measure calculated to tranquilize or assure the dissatisfied, 
or to meet by force the revolutionary spirit now threatening the 
integrity and peace of the country. 

But long ere this, the people of the Southern States had ceased 
to look to Congress for any conclusive measure of prevention or 
reconciliation. Their resolution to go into convention of their 
States and to solve the difficulties for themselves, had been quite 
determined upon, and when, upon the 31st of December, the Com- 
mittee of Thirteen reported themselves as unable to agree upon 
any plan of adjustment, they would wait no longer. On the 7th 
of January action was taken by Florida, and by the end of the 
month four more of the cotton States had passed the Ordinance 
of Secession by overwhelming majorities. They were joined by 
Texas on the 5th of February. The public property within the 
limits of these States was seized, and, in the case of Louisiana, a 
large amount of public money was removed from the Mint at 
New Orleans before the passage of the Ordinance; nor has the 
General Government ever received any offer of indemnity for this 
spoliation. 

Congress adjourned, leaving the status unaltered by statute, 
and the President, with his peculiar views, helpless. But there 
was a belief, notwithstanding the threatening nature of the diffi- 
culties, that a peaceable solution might yet be attained; and with- 
out confidence in the action of the President, and uncertain of the 



258 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

views of the incoming administration, and unwilling to tie its liands 
or to anticipate its action by initiating hostile measures, Congress 
seemed to trust alone to time and to the new administration shortly 
to assume power. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Delegates from cotton States meet at Montgomery, Ala. — Form a provis- 
ional Congress— Executive, legislative and judicial departments formed — 
The United States of America "a foreign country " — The establishment 
and organization of the " Government " — Acts passed— Assumes control 
of the " questions and difficulties " existing with the General Government 
— Nature of the Government — General Convention not competent to 
exigency— Declares itself a provisional Government at first — Exercises all 
power — Governor Pickens seeks counsel of Jefl'erson Davis — His reply — 
Writes again on the 20th of January — His letter — Governor Pickens consults 
the Governor of Georgia— His reply — Threatened attack upon Sumter — 
Mr. Robert Toombs urges against the attack, except with sanction of " our 
joint Government" — Reply of Governor Pickens — Recommends the 
appointment of a commander-in-chief — Counsels that the "Congress" 
should indicate jurisdiction — His views and arguments — Thinks on 
1 2th of February that he is prepared to take Fort Sumter — Asks if he 
shall await orders, or act himself — Jefferson Davis —Provisional President 
of new Government — Appoints a general officer for Charleston — Governor 
applies for a "skilled engineer" — Captain Whiting sent — His adverse 
report — Work at Cummings Point pushed steadily on. 

While inaction and hesitation seemed to characterize the pro- 
ceedings of Congress, and which the President regarded as favor- 
able to him in the position he had taken, there was no illusion as 
to the course of those States that, as far as their own act could 
accomplish it, had now separated themselves from the Federal 
Union. Hardly had the last of the cotton States passed the Ordi- 
nance of Secession, when on the 4th of February the Commis- 
sioners appointed by the several State conventions, met in session 
at Montgomery, Ala. These State conventions had sent their 
ablest men, many of them well known to the country at 
large, and whose lives were characterized by devotion to Southern 
sentiment and to Southern interest. An abundant material was 
thus supplied, from which was drawn an array of executive ability 
that gave life to every department of the new Government, and 
that in determined and deliberate concert did not hesitate to act. 

The provisional Congress had no sooner assembled than it at 
once began the passage of resolutions and of acts entitled " By 

259 



26o THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

the Confederate States of America in Congress assembled." The 
varied and complicated machinery of an established government 
was promptly organized and the officers to direct it chosen. The 
executive, legislative and judicial departments were provided 
for and set in motion, and the salaries of the Cabinet officers 
regulated. 

To a Congress thus composed, the United States of Amer- 
ica became a " foreign country," and a measure enforcing the 
" existing revenue laws against all foreign countries " except the 
State of Texas was promptly adopted.* 

A resolution for the appointment of three commissioners by the 
" President-elect," to be sent to the Government of the United 
States of America, " to settle questions of disagreement between 
the two Governments," was adopted on the tenth day of the ses- 
sion. A department of State was organized, and a " great 
seal " provided for, and its uses prescribed. On one and the same 
day the Treasury, War and Navy departments were called into 
existence and a Department of Justice authorized. The estab- 
lishment and organization of a general staff for the Army of the 
Confederate States was resolved upon, and before the month of 
February had closed provision had been made to raise money for 
the support of the Government, and to provide for the defense of 
the Confederate States, to raise provisional forces, and to accept 
the service of volunteers. 

Early in March, acts were passed to provide for the public 
defense, so as to maintain the rightful possession of the Confeder- 
ate States in every portion of territory belonging to each State. 
The President was authorized to accept the service of 100,000 
volunteers. On the 6th of March, the establishment and organi- 
zation of an army was provided for, and in a subsequent act 
provision was made for its support. And thus within a month 
from the time at which it had assembled at Montgomery, a 
Government fully officered, and with every attribute of national 
power and supported by its people, had sprung into existence 
within the limits of the old Union, prepared to defend to the last 
extremity the position it had taken. " Jefferson Davis has 
created a nation," said Mr. Gladstone in his place in Parliament, 
and a nation was thus seemingly formed, " because each State 



* Acts of the Provisional Congress, 1861. 



PROVISIONAL CONGRESS FORMED. 26 1 

possessed within itself an established and organized Government, 
under the influence of which right was maintained and wrong 
redressed. A remarkable change in the political government of 
this people was thus accomplished without the slightest disturb- 
ance of their social condition, and without the slightest exhibi- 
tion of licenseor tendency to anarchy."* The secret strength that 
lies in the complete and distinct organization of the States as 
separate communities, and upon which our whole Federal system 
of government relies, was appealed to, and used to whatever suc- 
cess was attained in the new movement. But from its nature, as 
well as from its organization, the Congress found itself at once 
obliged to assume the immediate control of questions whose 
solution involved the question of peace or war to the Confeder- 
acy, and accordingly, upon the 12th of February, within one week 
of its organization, it took under its charge the " questions and 
difficulties" existing '* between the several States of this Con- 
federacy and the United States of America relating to the occu- 
pation of forts" and other public establishments. Upon the 28th 
of February, in the act to raise provisional forces and " to enable 
the Government of the Confederate States to maintain its juris- 
diction over all questions of peace and war," the " President " 
was authorized to assume control of all military operations in 
every State, in questions between them and powers foreign to 
them. Under this act, provision for the support of 3,000 men 
for twelve months, to be called into service at Charleston, 
was made, as well as an appropriation for 2,000 additional 
troops whenever in the discretion of " the President " their serv- 
ices might be required at Charleston. 

The action of the provisional Congress in thus assuming the 
control of the "questions and difficulties" existing between any 
State and the Government of the United States, had immediate 
reference to the actual condition of affairs at Charleston and in 
Florida. Although the probability of such action had been 
anticipated by some of those in power in South Carolina, if not 
invited directly by the Governor, the passage of the resolution by 
the provisional Congress gave rise to considerable feeling, and to 
an extended discussion in the Convention and among the people. 

In sending their delegates to Montgomery, it was understood 



"Representative Men of the South." — Sketch of Magrath. 



262 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVH WAR. 

to be the wish of the Convention of South Carolina that a pro- 
visional Government should be first promptly organized and set 
in motion; to be followed at once by the establishment of a per- 
manent Government, and that this being accomplished, the dele- 
gates should return to their State conventions. It was to be 
understood that the assembled delegates were not the Legislature, 
nor were they to administer the Government, but to remain a 
Convention only.* 

The presentation of these views was met by earnest opposition 
from the deputies from Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia, who 
urged that a return of the deputies to their Convention " or to the 
people " would hazard the fate of the whole movement; that they 
had not so interpreted the resolution cf South Carolina, and that 
their Conventions had conferred full power. This view was sup- 
ported earnestly also by Florida, thus rendering it probable that 
Mississippi would be the only State that would support the 
peculiar view taken by South Carolina. Under these circum- 
stances, the deputies from South Carolina yielded, and so reported 
to the Governor of their State, expressing the concurrent opinion 
of the entire delegation except two (Mr. Barnwell and Mr. Rhett). 

It soon became manifest that the general Convention, as such, 
was not competent to meet the exigencies of the situation, nor to 
grapple successfully with the events now pressing upon them with 
startling rapidity. It was therefore determined " that the Con- 
vention should declare itself the Congress of a provisional Gov- 
ernment," that it should act and should so exercise the powers of 
such Government until a permanent establishment under a new 
Constitution could be organized and a new Government inaugu- 
rated under it. It was in fact *' the Constituent Assembly," and 
meantime the provisional Congress was the sole power for the 
" embryo Confederacy." *' It exercised all the functions of Gov- 
ernment, executive as well as legislative, and it held back and res- 
trained the State of South Carolina from an attack on Fort Sumter, 
until the Confederate Government was in a condition to act."t 

It was during this transition state that a very general impres- 
sion if not a conviction prevailed, that an immediate assault upon 
Fort Sumter was threatened by the authorities of South Carolina. 



* Letter of Mr. Porcher Miles, February lo, 1861. 

t Judicial decision. Judge I. M. Clayton, 7th Judicial District, 1866. 



LETTER OF MR. JEFFERSON DAVIS. 263 

Even since the entrance of Major Anderson into that work, and 
the refusal of the General Government to transfer his command 
to Fort Moultrie, the question of its reduction and possession had 
presented itself incessantly and with accumulated force to the 
people and authorities of South Carolina. Distrusting his own 
judgment, impatient of the pressure brought upon him, the Exec- 
utive of the State had sought counsel from without, and having 
previously addressed a communication to Senator Jefferson Davis, 
then in Jiis seat as a Senator from Mississippi, he received from 
him a reply on the 13th of January. 

He says that he was unable to place any confidence in the 
adherence of the administration to a ** fixed line of policy;" 
that the general tendency was to hostile measures, and that it 
was necessary to prepare to meet them; and that he took it for 
granted that the time allowed to the garrison of Fort Sumter had 
been diligently employed by "yourselves," "so that before you 
could be driven out of your earthworks, you will be able to cap- 
ture the fort which commands them." He argues against the shut- 
ting up of the garrison with the view to starve them into submis- 
sion, as such action would create a sympathy much greater than 
any which could be obtained on the present issue. He doubted, 
too, the loyalty of the garrison, and as he supposed that the 
entrance of the harbor was closed to any reinforcements, he 
thought that there could be no danger to the freest intercourse 
between the garrison and the city. His letter was as follows: 

" Washington, D. C, 

" January 13, 1861. 
" Governor F. W. Pickens, 

" My dear sir: A serious and sudden attack of neuralgia has 
prevented me from fulfilling my promise to communicate more 
fully by mail than could safely be done by telegraph. I need 
hardly say to you that a request for a conference on questions of 
defense had to me the force of a command; it, however, found 
me under a proposition from the Governor of Mississippi, to send 
me as a commissioner to Virginia, and another to employ me in 
the organization of the State militia. But more than all, I was 
endeavoring to secure the defeat of the nommation of a foreign 
collector for the port of Charleston, and at that time it was 
deemed possible that in the Senate we could arrest all hostile 
legislation such as might be designed either for the immediate or 
future coercion of the South. It now appears that we shall lack 
one or two votes to effect the legislative object just mentioned, 



264 ^-^^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

and it was decided last evening, in a conference which I was not 
able to attend, that the Senators of the seceded States should 
promptly withdraw upon the telegraphic information already- 
received. I am still confined to my bed, but hope soon to be up 
again, and, at as early a day as practicable, to see you. I cannot 
place any confidence in the adherence of the administration to a 
fixed line of policy. The general tendency is to hostile 
measures, and against these it is needful for you to prepare. I 
take it for granted that the time allowed to the garrison of Fort 
Sumter has been diligently employed by yourselves, so that before 
you could be driven out of your earthworks you will be able to 
capture the fort which commands them. I have not sufficiently 
learned your policy in relation to the garrison at Fort Sumter, to 
understand whether the expectation is to compel them to capitu- 
late for want of supplies, or whether it is only to prevent the trans- 
mission of reports and the receipt of orders. To shut them up 
with a view to starve them into submission would create a 
sympathetic action much greater than any which could be 
obtained on the present issue. I doubt very much the loyalty of 
the garrison, and it has occurred to me that if they could receive 
no reinforcements — and I suppose you sufficiently command ihe 
entrance to the harbor to prevent it — that there could be no 
danger of the freest intercouse between the garrison and the city. 
We have to-day news of the approach of a mixed commis- 
sion from Fort Sumter and Charleston, but nothing further than 
the bare fact. We are probably soon to be involved in that 
fiercest of human strifes, a civil war. The temper of the Black 
Republicans is not to give us our rights in the Union, or allow us 
to go peaceably out of it. If we had no other cause, this would 
be enough to justify secession, at whatever hazard. When I am 
better I will write again, if I do not soon see you. 

(Signed) " Very sincerely yours, Jefferson Davis."* 

Upon the 20th of January he again wrote that his quiet hours 
were mostly spent in thought of Charleston Harbor ; that the 
opinion of the friends of Governor Pickens was adverse to the 
presentation of a demand for the evacuation of Fort Sumter; 
that the little garrison in its present position pressed upon 
nothing but a point of pride; that war was made up of real 
elements, and that it was a physical problem from the solution of 
which all sentiment must necessarily be excluded; that he 
hoped that they should soon have a Southern Confederacy, 
should soon be ready to do all which interest or even pride 
demands, and that an indemnity would be found for any chafing 
they had now to endure. That there was much preparation to 

* From original letter. 



SECOND LETTER OF MR. DAVIS. 205 

make, both in civil and in military organizations, and that the time 
which served for their preparation, by its moral effect tended 
toward a peaceful solution. He thought, too, that the "occur- 
rence" of the Star of the West seemed to put the Governor in 
the best condition for delay, so long as the Government permits 
that matter to rest where it is ; and that if things should continue 
as they were for a month, they would then " be in a condition to 
speak with a voice that all must hear and heed." He wrote : 

"Washington, 20th January, 1861. 
" Governor F. W. Pickens. 

" Dear Sir: I wrote you a note yesterday announcing to you 
my disappointment at the circumstances which prevented me 
from meeting you on my way home. You will not be surprised 
when I say to you that my quiet hours are mostly spent in 
thoughts of Charleston Harbor, and may therefore pardon the 
frequency of my letters. 

" Colonel Hayne has doubtless informed you of the condition 
in which he found matters here. The opinion of your friends, 
which has been communicated to him, is adverse to the presenta- 
tion of a demand for the evacuation of Fort Sumter. The little 
garrison in its present position presses on nothing but a point of 
pride, and to you I need not say that war is made up of real 
elements. It is a physical problem from the solution of which we 
must need exclude all sentiment. I hope we shall soon have a 
Southern Confederacy, shall soon be ready to do all which interest 
or even pride demands, and in the fullness of a redemption of 
every obligation. The more impatient will find indemnity for 
any chafing, in the meantime, they would have to endure. We 
have much of preparation to make, both in military and civil 
organization, and the time which serves for our preparation, by 
its moral effect tends also towards a peaceful solution. Secure 
of ourselves, walking steadily onward to the purpose we have 
avowed, if any should misunderstand us, it will be only to awake 
from their delusion to the realization of the virtues and powers 
which will seem all the greater for their sudden development. 

" I learn but vaguely the progress of your works, but rest 

content in the conviction that all is done which is possible. 
********* 

" The occurrence of the Star of the IVest seems to me to put 
you in the best condition for delay, so long as the Government 
permits that matter to rest where it is. Your friends here think 
you can well afford to stand still, so far as the presence of a 
garrison is concerned, and if things continue as they are for a 
month, we shall then be in a condition to speak with a voice 
which all must hear and heed. 

" I .should be very happy to hear from you at Jackson, Miss. ; 



266 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

and hoping to meet you soon, permit me to assure you that my 
heart will be with you, and my thoughts of you. 
'* Very respectfully and truly, 

" Yours, 
(Signed) ''Jefferson Davis." 

A letter of similar import had been addressed by Governor 
Pickens to the Executive of Georgia, Governor Jos. E. Brown, 
who replied to him on the 2d of February that he fully appre- 
ciated the difificulties by which he was surrounded, and the irrita- 
tion which his people must feel while menaced by a hostile 
force. That there were political considerations which induced 
him to believe that it would be bad policy to make an attack, or 
commence actual war during Mr. Buchanan's administration. 
He urged that if war was commenced during Mr. Buchanan's 
administration, the Democratic party of the North would sustain 
the President, and would be put in the front of the attack; that 
Mr. Lincoln would take it up as " unfinished business actually 
commenced," and bring the Republican party with him against 
the South. But that if a rupture with Buchanan was avoided, 
and Mr. Lincoln should commence the war, the Northern Dem- 
ocracy would oppose the measure and divide the people upon the 
issue; that Mr. Lincoln must commence the attack at once, if at 
all, when he would be weak, and when he would have offended a 
large number of the leaders of his party in the distribution of 
patronage. He therefore thought it unwise to make any attack 
at present, unless the interest and honor of South Carolina 
required a different course.* 

But the report of the alleged intention of Governor Pickens in 
regard to the assault upon Fort Sumter had reached Montgomery 
and engaged the attention of the leaders of the new movement. 
On the 9th of February a communication was addressed to the 
Governor of South Carolina by the Hon. Robert Toombs, then or 
immediately afterward the Secretary of State of the new Confed- 
eracy, urging that Sumter might not be attacked " without the 
sanction and jurisdiction of our joint Government." 

To this Governor Pickens replied that, under " your Consti- 
tution" he supposed that he had no jurisdiction unless, in case of 
defense or invasion, but that he considered the occupation of Fort 
Sumter now, after the rejection of his demand at Washington, and 



* Goyernor Pickens's files. 



A TTACK ON SUMTER DEEMED PR EM A TURE. 267 

the grounds upon which such rejection was made, as an act of 
invasion. 

The garrison was not in the same fort as when the State 
seceded, and their action in deserting Fort Moultrie and the 
destruction they committed was, he thought, only justifiable in 
the face of a public enemy, and certainly inaugurated a " state of 
active hostilities if not war." "But of course," continues the 
Governor, " if the President of our Republic will come on here 
or send a commander-in-chief immediately, or if your Congress 
will by any public or specific declaration, indicate jurisdiction, 
either by request or otherwise, then I could not hesitate to abide 
most cheerfully by your control," unless an act of aggression or 
insult would require " immediate action." 

The idea that the Government at Montgomery, might interfere 
had been for some time entertained, if not desired, by Governor 
Pickens, who, on the 9th of February, in a communication to 
the Hon. John Tyler, stated that, " if the provisional Government 
at Montgomery assume the direction of this State in reference to 
Fort Sumter, our course may be controlled by such direction." 
This, in view of the determined feeling of the people, was as far 
as the Governor could go without involving himself directly with 
the sentiment so often and so earnestly expressed by the Con- 
vention and by the Legislature. But it was no less an open 
suggestion, if not a solicitation, the object of which was to 
transfer a responsibility pressing upon him with daily increasing 
weight, and from which if not ostensibly, he not the less really 
shrank. But the Governor still continued to plead the necessity 
for an attack at the earliest possible moment, and in his com- 
munication to Mr. Toombs of the 12th of February, the day 
upon which the resolution was passed, he says, " I hope to be 
ready by Friday night, and think I am prepared to take the fort 
or to silence it. ' ' The fact that an immediate attack was con- 
templated, was telegraphed to the South Carolina delegation and 
created " deep concern." It was thought that the Governor was 
not informed as to the powers of the Congress. It was believed, 
too, that the attack would be premature, that it would interfere 
with the arrangements then in progress to establish a Government, 
and would put an end to any hope of a peaceful solution of the 
difficulties. It was at once determined that the Congress, being 
now the master, should interfere. A resolution assuming control 



268 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

of the difficulties was promptly offered and at once passed, and 
the whole question of Fort Sumter passed into the hands of the 
provisional Government. Upon the evening of the same day, 
the President of the provisional Congress (Mr. Cobb) announced 
the action of the Congress in a telegram to the Governor of South 
Carolina, who made on the following day a lengthy reply. The 
whole subject of the '' questions and difficulties " was discussed, 
as well in its political as its military relations. The claim of the 
United States to hold Fort Sumter as a military post, and the 
denial of the right of the State to have possession of the fort, was 
in fact a denial of its independence. 

But the assertion of the rightful independence of the State 
carried with it necessarily the right to reduce a fort into its own 
possession, when that fort was held by an unfriendly power for a 
hostile purpose. It was therefore proper and necessary for the 
State to take possession of " that fort" as soon as it was prepared 
to do it. With the completion of the preparation which was near, 
and certain of the object, it had ever been the purpose of the 
State authorities to take the fort. It was the right of the State, 
and her resources were equal to the exercise of that right; that 
whatever solution might be adopted upon the part of the Conven- 
tion in regard to the "questions and difficulties," the position of 
South Carolina as to them should be regarded, and that as soon as 
her preparations were completed, the fort should be reduced. As 
to the time the attack should be made, he thought, with the best 
lights he could procure in guiding him, he was perfectly satisfied 
that the welfare of the new Confederation, as well as the necessi- 
ties of the State required " that Fort Sumter should be reduced 
before the close of the present administration at Washington." 
To delay the attack until after the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, 
the troops which were then quartered in the Capital might be 
employed in attempting that which they could not now be spared 
to do. 

" Mr. Lincoln," says the Governor, " cannot do more for this 
State than Mr. Buchanan has done. Mr. Lincoln will not concede 
what Mr. Buchanan has refused, and Mr. Buchanan has based 
his refusal upon grounds which determine his reply to six States 
as completely as to one. If war can be averted it will be by 
making the capture of Fort Sumter a fact accomplished during 



GOV. PICKENS PREPARED TO TAKE SUMTER. 269 

the continuance of the present administration, and leaving to the 
incoming administration the question of an open declaration of 
war. If, however, the attack upon the fort is made during Mr. 
Lincoln's administration, it would be an act of present hostility; 
and a declaration of war would not be a question to be con- 
sidered by him, but would be inevitable. Mr. Buchanan cannot 
resist because he has not the power; Mr. Lincoln may not attack 
because the cause of quarrel may be considered by him as past."* 

This assumption of the war power by the Convention, and the 
control of the external relations of the States composing the new 
Confederacy, was effected before the new Government under the 
provisional constitution was organized. There was as yet no exec- 
utive, no Cabinet, and the single House of the Congress was the 
entire Government. And it was feared by many in South Carolina 
that the result of the transfer of the matter of Fort Sumter to 
the Montgomery Government would be the postponement of the 
possession of that work, and the assault upon it now confi- 
dently expected as soon to take place, would be entrusted to 
other hands, and that thus a reflection would rest upon the 
State. 

Although at this period the preparations for an assault upon 
the fort were incomplete, if not inadequate, no sooner had the 
transfer of the responsibility in regard to it been made to the pro- 
visional Congress, than the people of the State became more 
clamorous, and the authorities of the State more urgent, that the 
attack upon it should be made. The situation had become 
more complicated everywhere. According to a statement m the 
Southern press on the ist of February, sixteen forts had now been 
seized whose united armament consisted of 1,262 guns, and whose 
construction had cost the Government over six million and one 
half of dollars. t Seven remained. As early as the 12th of 
February, however. Governor Pickens had deemed himself pre- 
pared, and he wrote to Mr. Toombs, who shortly afterward became 
the Secretary of State of the new Confederacy, that he thought 
he was prepared to take Fort Sumter, or to silence it. He had, he 
said, in his most powerful battery, 1,240 yards from the fort, 
three 8-inch heavy Columbiads and three heavy mortars, and 



* Pickens to Cobb, February 13. 1861. 
t Charleston Mercury, February i, 1861. 



270 



THE GEMESIS of the CIVIL WAR. 



that two more were to be placed there. He had also a floating 
battery, which was to be placed under the weakest part of the work. 
" Besides these," he says, "I have mortars and Columbiads at Fort 
Moultrie, and plenty of 32-pounders as well as mortars at Fort 
Johnson. If the attack was commenced, the fort should be taken 
at every hazard ; and if resisted, the slaughter of the garrison was 
inevitable." The channel was well guarded, and no ship could 
enter without being sunk, and this should be done, " let the 
consequences be what they may." If reinforcements were attempt- 
ed, he would not wait an hour. He did not desire that the border 




HAMILTON FLOATING BATTERY. 



States should patch up a miserable and disgraceful Union with 
the North, and he thought that perhaps the immediate possession 
of the fort might be necessary to open a gulf between the border 
States and the North so deep that it could never be closed, and 
that perhaps it would be politic to do this, even at the expense of 
bloodshed. Such things had been done in great revolutions. 

On the 2 2d of February, the provisional President had for- 
warded to Governor Pickens the resolution of the Congress, 
taking into their own charge the military operations in progress 
in the several States of the Confederacy. To this the Governor 



SKILLED ENGINEER SENT TO CHARLESTON. 



271 



replied on the 27th of February, by a recital of the steps he had 
taken. That in order to consult him on military matters he had 
asked him to come to Charleston; that he had sent to the 
Governor of Georgia for General Twiggs, and to him (Davis) for a 
military engineer. That nothing should be done to involve the 
States in a permanent war by any separate act of theirs, unless it 
was necessary in self-defense, or to prevent reinforcements. But 
in the meantime, he proposed to go on with the same authority as 
ever in preparing his defenses and his men for any event that 
may arise. And he asks to be informed if, when he is ready to 
assault the fort, should he do so or await " your order," and also 
if he should demand the surrender, or would it be made by the 
executive, and he asked that an answer be sent him by telegraph. 
The Congress at Montgomery had meantime organized a pro- 
visional Government, and an executive in the person of Mr. 
Jefferson Davis had been chosen, who, upon the 9th of February, 
proceeded to Montgomery and at once entered upon the duties of 
his office. Among the earlier acts of his administration was the 
appointment of a brigadier-general for the army of the Con- 
federacy, and to assign him at once to the command of the 
operations in the harbor of Charleston. Previous to this appoint- 
ment, the Governor of South Carolina had been urgent that a 
skilled engineer should be sent to him at Charleston. Captain 
W. H. C. Whiting, a former officer of engineers of the United 
States Army, and who, having vacated his commission, was now in 
the service of the State of Georgia, was sent to report to him. 
On the 2 2d of February he received his orders from the pro- 
visional President directly. He was to proceed to Charleston, to 
confer with the Governor of the State, and to enter at once upon 
a reconnoissance of the harbor; he was to inspect the works, and 
was to gain such knowledge of Fort Sumter as circumstances 
would permit. He was to make an inventory of the armament 
and munitions, and note particularly the different qualities of 
cannon powder, and he was generally charged with the examination 
of the works and the preparation for active operations. Captain 
Whiting proceeded to Charleston, and entered at once upon the 
service required of him. The result of his inspection was soon 
attained. He disapproved of much which had been done, and 
gave an " alarming description of affairs " in the harbor of 
Charleston. This official decision deeply wounded the suscepti- 



272 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



bilities of the officials and people in Charleston, many of whom 
demanded his removal. The efforts of the State authorities had 
been almost exclusively directed to the reduction of Fort Sumter. 
With a view to the accomplishment of this purpose, the work 
upon Fort Moultrie, Fort Johnson and the iron-clad battery upon 
Cummings Point seemed to receive their principal attention. It 
was evident that a breaching fire was contemplated from the 
batteries at Cummings Point. The labor there was unremitting, 
and it soon attracted the earnest attention of Major Anderson 
and his officers. It was to meet the fire from these batteries and 
to resist the contemplated assault, that the gorge of Fort Sumter 
was protected and strengthened by every available means, and the 
strongest batteries upon the parapet made to bear upon the works 
at that point. The recommendations of their Board had been 
carefully carried out. All through January and February the 
work was prosecuted, and often continued late into the night. On 
the 2 2d of February Major Anderson reported to his Govern- 
ment that, " one of the works on Cummings Point appeared to be 
bomb-proof, and was possibly intended to defilade their guns 
bearing on the channel from our fire," and that it was evident 
that they considered them as important. The shape and appear- 
ance of the battery, and the use of bars of railroad iron in its con- 
struction, was on the 4th of February first made known. The 
guns which were intended to fire directly upon Sumter were first 
mounted, placed in position and covered with bomb-proof roofs 
and the embrasures closed with iron shutters. On the 9th of 
February an additional battery of three heavy guns, three hun- 
dred yards eastward of the iron-clad battery, and connected with 
it by a covered way, apparently was recognized and reported. 
Work went on steadily upon these batteries from day to day. 
Meantime, on the 12th of February, the action of the provisional 
Congress in assuming the control of the military operations of 
the seceded States had become known, and it seemed to those 
who watched the operations from Fort Sumter to be followed by 
a lack of activity in the work going on about the fort. But from 
whatever cause it may have arisen, the suspension was but tem- 
porary, and work was soon actively renewed. By the middle of 
February a third breaching battery was established at Cummings 
Point, and the three embrasures for its guns commenced. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Salutes upon Washington's birthday in Charleston Harbor — Scenes in Wash- 
ington — President countermands order for parade of troops — Representa- 
tive Sickles protesti — Interview with the President at the War Department 
— President yields — Parade takes place— Makes explanation to Ex-Presi- 
dent Tyler — His letter — Major G. T. Beauregard selected as Brigadier- 
General of the new Confederacy — His character and history — Proceeds to 
Charleston— Makes thorough inspection — Unfavorable result— Absence of 
systematic organization and control — Operations around Sumter changed 
— Detached batteries located on shores of harbor — Fort Sumter to be 
enveloped by a circle of fire— Defenses of Fort Moultrie rebuilt — Chief 
engineer's accurate observations and reports — His letter to his chief — 
Major Anderson clearly reports his condition, and the work going on 
around him. 

It was now the 2 2d of February, and Castle Pinckney had 
opened early with a salute of thirteen guns in honor of the birth- 
day of Washington. At noon the guns upon the barbette were 
manned and Sumter fired a national salute. On that morning a 
different scene was enacting at Washington. 

In accordance with custom a parade of the troops stationed 
there had been ordered by the Secretary of War in celebration of 
the day, and its execution committed to General Scott on the 21st 
inst. Upon the evening of that day the President, hearing of the 
order, went in person to the residence of the Secretary of War 
and asked if such parade had been ordered by him. 

He was replied to affirmatively, and informed that it was in 
accordance with custom, when the President at once counterman- 
ded the order. The Secretary replied to him that it would be 
difficult now at so late an hour to countermand it, as a copy of 
the order had already gone to the public press, but that he would 
make the effort to obey his instructions. Upon the morning of 
the 2 2d, knowing nothing of the countermand, and having seen 
the published order, large crowds had assembled to witness the 
parade, and with an especial interest, as it was believed that troops 
had been assembled in Washington with reference to the 
approaching inauguration on the 4th of March. The President 



2 74 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



had gone to the War Department, and was in the office of the 
Secretary of War, who had preceded him, when Daniel E. 
Sickles, then a Member of Congress from New York, and who had 
made his way into the closed Department, appeared at the door of 
the Secretary's office and demanded to see the President. When 
cautioned by the Secretary that the President wished to be alone, 
he insisted; when, hearing the noise, the President inquired the 
reason of the disturbance. His relations with the Representative 
had been close for a long period. While minister to England 
the latter had been the Secretary of Legation, and as a Member 
of Congress he had been an ardent supporter of Mr. Buchanan's 
administration, and the relations existing were now taken advan- 
tage of by the latter to bring the subject of the suspension of the 
parade before the President with great force. It would be mis- 
understood, there was no reason for it, and would be productive 
of great harm. It must go on, and any orders for its suspension 
must be at once revoked. The President reluctantly yielded, 
when the Representative went at once to the office of Lieutenant- 
General Scott, who feared that it was then too late, as his officers 
were now "unbelted," as he expressed it. Word was, however, 
promptly sent; those organizations that had not yet been dis- 
missed were assembled, and a parade was made without any 
knowledge upon the part of the people that it had been inter- 
rupted. Hardly had the Representative left the department when 
the President addressed the following communication to ex-Presi- 
dent John Tyler, the President of the Peace Convention then 
in session in Washington, and which was at once copied by the 
Secretary of War. It was as follows; 

"Washington, February 22, 1861. 

" My Dear Sir: I found it impossible to prevent two or three 
companies of the Federal troops from joining in the procession 
to-day with the volunteers of the District, without giving serious 
offence to the tens of thousands of people who have assembled to 
witness the parade. 

"The day is the anniversary of Washington's birth, a festive 
occasion throughout the land, and it has been particularly marked 
by the House of Representatives. 

" The troops everywhere else join such processions in honor 
of the birthday of the Father of our Country, and it would be 
hard to assign a good reason why they should be excluded from 
the privilege in the Capital founded by himself. They are here 
simply as a J>osse comitatus^ to aid the civil authorities in case of 



Ma JOR be a U REGARD' S RECORD. 275 

fieed. Besides, the programme was published in the Natiotial 
Intelligencer of this morning without my personal knowledge, the 
War Department having considered the celebration of the national 
anniversary by the military arm of the Government as a matter 
of course. 

" From your friend, very respectfully, 

"James Buchanan. 
" President Tyler." 

Renewed activity was soon manifested about the fort. The 
area to include all the batteries from Cummings Point was 
enlarged, and the batteries themselves connected by curtains, and 
work progressed upon these curtains, which the engineer officer, 
who carefully watched their progress, thought was ''a magazine 
or a bomb-proof of timber to be used as a battery." The work 
at Moultrie and at Fort Johnson was steadily pursued, and it was 
while thus in progress that the officer appointed by the Govern- 
ment at Montgomery reported in Charleston. Major G. T. 
Beauregard, late of the United States Army, was the ofificer 
selected, who, in personal character and professional attain 
ment fully merited the distinction. A native of Louisiana, 
he had graduated from the Military Academy at West Point 
in the Corps of Engineers of the class of 1838, with Hardee 
and McDowell, and had been justly considered one of the 
most accomplished members of that corps. By a singular coin- 
cidence Major Anderson was his instructor of artillery, and 
upon his graduation retained him as his assistant instructor of 
artillery and artillery practice. He had made a record of faith- 
ful service to the Government, which but a short time before* had 
appointed him to the superintendency of the Military Academy 
at West Point, which position had been tendered to him the 
previous year. 

In the war with Mexico he had distinguished himself by his 
engineering ability, and especially in his proposal and advocacy 
of the attack upon the city by its western approaches, and in 
support of which he stood almost alone, but which was finally 
successfully adopted. He was twice wounded, and was brevetted 
a captain, and again a major, in the army " for gallant and meri- 
torious conduct at Contreras and at Cherubusco." He reported at 
the Academy, but, in accordance with his orders, postponed 



November 8, i860. 



276 



The Genesis of the civil war. 



assuming command until after the January examinations had 
closed, when he relieved the then superintendent, Major 
Delafield. His object in postponing action arose from the 
anticipated course of Louisiana, his native State, and which 
would decide his position, and in regard to which he was open in 
expression, having communicated his intentions to the chief of 
his corps. Major Beauregard remained in command but a few 
days, when he was relieved by an order from the Secretary of 
War, Mr. Holt, who, upon examining into the nature of the 
appointment, and discovering that it had been made without 
reference to the claims of older officers, and deeming that the 
appointment of an officer with such views and sympathies to the 
command of the military school at West Point an unsuitable one 
under the circumstances, and one which could not but produce a 
demoralizing effect upon the cadets, relieved him by his own 
order. Major Beauregard returned to Louisiana, when he at 
once tendered his resignation, and where by his counsel and 
advice he materially assisted the Governor in his preparations for 
the defense of the State and the approach to its valuable harbor. 
He declined the offer of a colonelcy in the State service, as he 
deemed himself, from his position and services, entitled to the 
brigadier-generalcy, which had been offered to and accepted by 
another (Bragg). The appointment of Beauregard to West Point 
was due to Senator John Slidell, of Louisiana, his brother-in-law. 
When his relief from command became known. Senator Slidell, 
upon the 27th of January, addressed a note to the President, 
asking him if this had been done with his approbation. His 
influence with the President was at this time potential. Soon 
after the Secretary of War received a summons to the White 
House, and on entering the President's room he found him seated 
at his official table with Mr. Stanton at his side. On approach- 
ing him he handed to the Secretary an open paper, saying to him, 
" Read this." It proved to be the note from Senator Slidell just 
referred to, and was in these words: 

" Washington, 

" January 27, 1861. 

"My Dear Sir: I have seen in the Star, zxi6. heard from 

other parties, that Major Beauregard, who had been ordered to 

West Point as superintendent of the Military Academy, and had 

entered on the discharge of his duties there, had been relieved 



RE LIE VED FR OM WE S T POINT. 2/7 

from his command. May I take the liberty of asking you if this 
has been done with your approbation ? 

" Very respectfully yours, 

" John Slidell." 

* Upon reading it the Secretary, indignant at its tone, said: 
<*Mr. President, we have heard this crack of the overseer's whip 
over our heads long enough. This note is an outrage; it is one 
that Senator Slidell had no right to address to you." " I think 
so myself," replied the President, " and will write to him to that 
effect." "■ No," continued the Secretary, " I feel that I have a 
right, Mr. President, to ask that you will do more than this; that 
you will say to Senator Slidell, without qualification and without 
explanation, that this is your act, for you know that as Secretary 
of War I am simply your representative, and if my acts, as such, 
are not your acts, then they are nothing." The President 
assented to this view, and without delay sent the following an- 
swer to Senator Slidell. 

"Washington, January 29, 1861. 

" My Dear Sir: With every sentiment of personal friend- 
ship and regard, I am obliged to say in answer to your note of 
Sunday, that I have full confidence in the Secretary of War; and 
his acts, in the line of his duty, are my own acts, for which I am 
responsible. 

" Yours very respectfully, 

(Signed) "James Buchanan." 

This terminated Senator Slidell's social relations with the Presi- 
dent; he never appeared at the White House again. Upon the 
2 2d of February, Major Beauregard was summoned to Mont- 
gomery. He had meanwhile resigned his commission in the army 
of the United States, upon the 8th of February, but until its 
acceptance by the Government he abstained from entering the 
service of the Confederacy, when the appointment of brigadier- 
general was first tendered to him at Montgomery. At the sugges- 
tion of Mr. Jefferson Davis, a telegram was sent by Major 
Beauregard to Washington, asking for action upon his resigna- 
tion, when a reply was received formally accepting it, to take 
effect upon the 7th of February, and he at once passed into the 
service of the Confederate States. On the ist of March, he was 
directed by his War Department to proceed to Charleston and 



Secretary Holt to writer. 



2 yS THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

report to the Governor of South Carolina for ''military duty in 
that State." He was authorized to receive into the service of 
the Confederacy, a force not exceeding 5,000 men, as might be 
tendered, or who might volunteer. A sum of $20,000 was placed 
at his disposal, other sums arranged for, and the services of a com- 
petent staff suggested. Upon the same day, the Confederate 
Secretary of War* informed Governor Pickens of the appointment 
of General Beauregard and of the confidence in him, and he at 
the same time informed him that the President of the Confeder- 
acy shared the feeling the Governor had expressed, that Fort 
Sumter should, as early as possible, be in their possession. This 
natural and just feeling, however, must yield to necessity. " The 
first blow must be successful both for its moral and physical con- 
sequences, and thorough preparations must be made before an 
attack was attempted; otherwise the result would be disastrous 
and would demoralize our people, "f and injuriously affect them in 
the opinion of the world as reckless and precipitous. General 
Beauregard proceeded at once to his post. In order to become 
acquainted with the actual condition of things in the harbor, the 
progress of the works and the object proposed by the State 
authorities. General Beauregard abstained for a few days from 
assuming command. Soon afterwards, accompanied by the 
engineer officer, Captain Whiting, he proceeded to a thorough 
inspection of the system of works then in process of construction 
on Morris Island by the local engineers, for the reduction of Fort 
Sumter. The result of the inspection was unfavorable to the 
system, which, as engineers, was condemned by them. There 
was an absence of systematic organization or control; the guns 
and merlons at or about Cummings Point had been injudiciously 
crowded. Work had been confined to measures looking to the 
reduction of the forts, while the channel entrances had been 
almost overlooked, and it was deemed of the highest importance 
while keeping in view the reduction of Fort Sumter, to isolate it 
immediately from any possibility of reinforcement. A marked 
change in the operations around them soon became visible to 
those who watched from Fort Sumter. Under the instructions of 
the new commander, a system of detached batteries along the 



* L. P. Walker. 

t Letter book of the Confederate War Department, 1S60-61. 



RENEWED ACTIVITY MANIFESTED. 



279 



shores of both Morris and Sullivan's islands was at once com- 
menced. Mortar batteries were to be located as far as practicable 
beyond the range of the guns of the fort, ''at every available 
point on the bay around a circumference of which the fort should 
be the centre, in order to concentrate thereon the fire of all my 
batteries "* The position to be taken by the floating battery when 
completed, was indicated, and a mortar battery located upon 
Mount Pleasant closed the circle of fire intended to envelop the 
fort. Additional mortars were brought from Savannah and Pen- 
sacola and placed at Fort Johnson and at Mount Pleasant in 
strong works. They were within effective range, but beyond the 
reach of the guns of Fort Sumter. The character of the work at 
Fort Moultrie was not thought to be effective. The defenses 
were rebuilt; the merlons between the guns bearing on Sumter 
were raised and supported by heavy timbers, and greatly increased 
in strength. Renewed activity was soon manifested at every 
point in the harbor of Charleston; new batteries sprang up along 
the shore, steamers carrying men and materials passed and 
repassed by day and night under the guns of Fort Sumter. A 
large force of laborers was kept at work daily, including Sunday, 
and the new object to be attained was steadily prosecuted. There 
was no attempt at disguise. Trials for range were made as soon 
as any new work was completed and had received its armament, 
and the artillery practice constantly going on soon manifested to 
the garrison the steady improvement in firing and the accuracy 
of range attained, and which they watched from their walls with 
increasing interest. Daily reports, careful and minute in their 
character, were made to Washington by Major Anderson, and the 
engineer officer, Captain Foster, and the reports of Major Ander- 
son were often accompanied by accurate sketches of the works 
going on, made by Captain Seymour. Necessarily, these were 
limited to what could be seen from the work by the medium of 
glasses, as well as what appeared in the daily journals and what 
could be learned from occasional messengers to the fort. Much 
was inference and what seemed to be the probable intention, but 
there was singular accuracy in the reports, and the Government 
was kept as fully advised of the progress of the works around the 
fort as the garrison itself. Through the months of February 



'Beauregard's letter to writer, July 16, 1872, 



2 80 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

and March, these reports were regularly made and the progress 
of the works reported, and especially upon the works at Cumniings 
Point, which were nearest to the fort and deemed by the garrison 
as the most prominent. The transfer of mortars to the different 
works, the establishment of new batteries and the probable effect 
of their guns, their trials for range, the extension of their batter- 
ies to Morris Island bearing on the channel, as well as their 
changes at Moultrie to strengthen its defensive arrangement, were 
all carefully and promptly reported; also the arrival of Gen- 
eral Beauregard and the immediate extension of the work for the 
defense of the harbor. So minute were the observations of the 
engineer officer, that he was enabled to report to his chief on 
the 6th of March, as follows: 

" Fort Sumter, S. C, 

'< March 6, 1861. 

" General: I have the honor to report that during the day, 
and especially towards night, unusual activity was observed 
among the South Carolinians around us; several steamer loads 
of men were landed on Cummings Point. The number was greater 
than the arrangements for shelter, apparently, for I observe quite 
a large number grouped about their bivouac fires this morning. 
Their suffering must have been considerable during the night, 
for the weather suddenly changed from the warm temperature of 
the preceding days to a high degree of cold, for this climate, 
the wind blowing fresh from the north. 

" I learn that portable hot shot furnaces have been fur- 
nished to several, and probably all, of the batteries. The mortar 
battery on James Island, south of Fort Johnson, is armed, but 
the number of mortars is not ascertained. The magazine in 
the flank of this battery is also finished. The mortar battery on 
Sullivan's Island, west of Fort Moultrie, is also armed. All the 
batteries on Morris Island are armed. The guns range from 32- 
pounders down, with the exception of the iron bomb-proof, 
which is (I think, from all reports and observations) armed with 
8-inch Columbiads — three of them. 

" The raft does not meet expectations. It is being covered 
with railroad strap iron instead of the T rail. This has a cross- 
section of about three-fourths or one inch by two inches or two 
and a half inches. 

'* They are now ironing the top portion, the front not being 
yet commenced. Two 8-inch Columbiads are lying on the wharf 
ready to be put on board. I do not think this floating battery will 
prove very formidable. 

" We have not yet received the inaugural address of President 



MA yOR ANDERSON RE FOR TS HIS CONDITION. 281 

Lincoln, although it is reported from town that it is coercive in 
its character, and that much excitement prevails. 
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" J. G. Foster, 

' ' Captain Engineers. 
*' General Jos. G. Totten, 

" Chief Engineer U. S. Army, Washing/on, D. C." 

Anderson, too, wholly alive to the fact that the harbor was 
being rapidly closed to all relief to him, and that any vessel com- 
ing to his assistance would be under fire from the harbor bar to the 
walls of his fort, clearly reported his condition to the new admin- 
istration on the 9th of March as follows: 

<'FoRT Sumter, March 9, 1861. 

'« (Received A. G. O., March 12.) 
" Colonel S. Cooper, 

* * Adjutant-General, United States Artny. 
*' Colonel: I have the honor to report that we can see the 
South Carolinians engaged this morning strengthening and 
extending considerably what we supposed to have been mtended 
for a mortar battery at Fort Johnson. Small parties are also 
working at Nos. 9 and 10, and a very heavy force at the bend of 
the island, this side of No. i. Whether they are constructing 
another battery there or strengthening one that is already there I 
cannot tell. One of my ofificers reports that he has counted nine 
24-pounders which have been landed at Cummings Point within a 
week. Yesterday he saw several shot or shells which appeared to 
be about eight inches in diameter. They are certainly busy 
strengthening the batteries already constructed, and probably 
adding others. It appears to me that vessels will, even now, 
from the time they cross the bar, be under fire from the batteries 
on Morris Island until they get under the walls of this work. I 
do not speak of the batteries which have been constructed on 
Sullivan's Island, as I am not certain of their positions. Fort 
Moultrie will, of course, be a very formidable enemy. 
** I am, Colonel, very respectfully, 
'* Your obedient servant, 

" Robert Anderson, 
" Afajor First Artillery, Commanding. 
** Colonel S. Cooper, Adjutant-General United States Army." 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Close of President Buchanan's administration— Condition of the country — 
Anderson's letter of February 28 — Its character — Estimate ot himself and 
officers — Relieving force necessary— Letter delivered to President on 4th of 
March — Transmitted to incoming President by Secretary of War Holt on 
5th of March — Resume of President Buchanan's course in dealing with the 
seceded States — His failure to recognize the real condition of affairs — His 
policy and action — Secretary Holt's letter accompan\ing Anderson's com- 
munication — Misled by Anderson's statements— Believed Anderson sate — 
Line of policy not to reinforce, unless called upon by Anderson, adhered to 
— Anderson's previous report - Main statements of his condition —Impos- 
sible to relieve him without large force -Anderson's view.-; in private corre- 
spondence — Important letter to a Rhode Island correspondent — Good con- 
dition of the garrison — Annoyances from without —Irritation of the people 
— Floating battery — Anderson asks for instructions in regard to it — Reply 
of Secretary of War — Destruction of the temporary wooden buildings on 
the parade — Ammunition furnished to thebatteries— Rearrangement of the 
guns — Gorge protected and strengthened — Anderson mines the wharf. 

The 4th of March had now come, and with it the close of the 
administration of Mr. Buchanan. The garrisons of Forts Sumter 
and Pickens had not been withdrawn, and these works still 
remained in the possession of the Government. The seceding 
States had not been recognized, either in the representative char- 
acter of their Commissioners, or in their corporate capacity, or in 
any way whatever. The National Government had failed to 
assert itself. Congress had adjourned, and had left the situation 
unaltered by statute and uninfluenced by action. The status 
had been apparently preserved; bloodshed had been thus far 
avoided; the border States yet remained in the Union, but no 
settlement of the difificulties had been determined upon, and the 
country was steadily drifting towards a condition of thmgs of 
which war seemed to be the inevitable conclusion. 

The Commissioners from the Confederate Government had 
arrived in Washington, and were only waiting a change in admin- 
istration to open negotiations with the Government, and to present 
their demands. The sounds of active preparation were heard in 
Charleston Harbor, and Fort Sumter was being rapidly surrounded 



EXPEDITION UNDER COMMANDER WARD. 283 

by batteries to effect its reduction, while the shores and islands of 
the harbor were lined with works to prevent its reinforcement or 
relief, and this without hindrance from any quarter. The little 
garrison, unsustained by official sympathy and unsupported by 
material aid, were laboring, with the limited means at their 
disposal, to place the work in their charge in a state of efificient 
defense. Six States had severed their connection with the Union 
as far as their own act could accomplish it, and had established a 
Government of their own in full operation. But the friends of a 
peaceful solution of the questions at issue were active and confi- 
dent, and it was believed by those in control that such solution 
was yet possible, as long as either side should abstain from any 
hostile act. The firing upon the Star of the West had failed 
to arouse the nation, and the expedition was succeeded by the 
preparation of another and more elaborate scheme, but which, in 
view of the earnest efforts of the friends of peace, and the absence 
of any active hostility, was held until Major Anderson at Fort 
Sumter should call for relief. 

It had been arranged that the expedition under Commander 
Ward, before alluded to, which had been made ready under the 
immediate direction of Lieutenant-General Scott himself, upon 
receiving a telegraphic despatch from the Secretary of the Navy, 
should on the night following the receipt of the despatch, set sail 
at once for Charleston Harbor. 

It was at this crisis that the letter of Major Anderson, con- 
taining the estimate of himself and his officers as to what force 
was now necessary, in their judgment, to relieve the fort, was 
received at the War Department on the 4th of March. On the 
28th of February Anderson had called suddenly upon his officers 
to submit in writing to him what force, in the estimation of each 
of them, would now be necessary to relieve the work. They were 
not to consult with each other, and their replies must be immediate. 
The opinions of the officers were varied as to the number of men 
required, but all agreed that the co-operation of the Navy was 
essential. The estimate of Major Anderson was that he would 
not risk his reputation with less than 20,000 men. That of his 
oflficers was as follows: 

Captain J. G. Foster, United States Engineers, 6,000 regulars 
or 20,000 volunteers to take the batteries, and 10,000 regulars or 
30,000 volunteers to hold them; First Lieutenant G. W. Snyder, 



284 ^-^^ GENES/S OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

United States Engineers, 4,000 men with four vessels of war: 
Second Lieutenant R. K. Meade, United States Engineers, Assist- 
ant Surgeon S. W. Crawford, Medical Staff, 4,000 men supported 
by naval vessels; Captain Doubleday, First Artillery, 1,000 men 
with naval vessels; Brevet Captain T. Seymour, First Artillery, 
First Lieutenant T. Talbot, First Artillery, 3,000 men with naval 
vessels; First Lieutenant J. C. Davis, First Artillery, 3,000 men 
and six war vessels; Second Lieutenant N. J. Hall, First Artillery, 
3,500 men and seven war vessels.* 

On the morning of the 4th of March the President, with some 
of the members of the Cabinet, had gone to the Capitol for the 
purpose of acting upon bills presented to him, when the Secre- 
tary of War appeared with the letter just received from Major 
Anderson. The contents of the letter were made known to the 
President and to his Cabinet. There was at that time no discus- 
sion in regard to it, the President merely remarking, upon learn- 
ing its contents, that it was " now a matter for the new adminis- 
tration." 

It was at once perceived that the Government had been under 
an erroneous impression, arising from the statements of Major 
Anderson, from which it was believed that Fort Sumter could at 
any time be relieved by the expedition under Captain Ward, which 
had been made ready under the immediate direction of Lieuten- 
ant-General Scott himself. The *' seeming extravagant estimate " 
now made by Major Anderson was wholly unanticipated by the 
President or his Cabinet. In accordance with custom, the Presi- 
dent had vacated the Executive mansion on the 3d of March, and 
had removed with his family to a private residence, where, 
upon the evening of the 4th of March, the letter of Major 
Anderson was the subject of conversation between him and his 
Cabinet, who had called to take their leave of him. Meantime 
the Secretary of War, Mr. Holt, had prepared a letter to Presi- 
dent Lincoln to accompany that of Major Anderson, and, upon 
the morning of the 5th of March, read it to the Ex-President and 
such members of his Cabinet as had come to the War Depart- 
ment. Mr. Buchanan expressed himself as gratified with the 
answer as prepared by the Secretary of War, and in this the 
members of his old Cabinet concurred. The parting of the 



• " War of the Rebellion." Vol. I, Series I, p. 202. 



PRESIDENT BUCHANAN FAILS TO ACT. 285 

President with his associates took place soon after, and the 
administration of Mr. Lincoln took charge of the Government, 
the Secretary of War having continued in his position until the 
qualification of his successor in office. On the afternoon of the 
5th of March the Secretary of War transmitted his letter accom- 
panied by that of Major Anderson to President Lincoln at the 
Executive mansion. Shortly afterward the President sent for 
the Secretary, and taking him into a private apartment, asked 
him if at any time in his intercourse Vi^ith Anderson he had occasion 
to doubt his loyalty. The Secretary replied that he had not, 
when the subject was dropped. 

The failure upon the part of the President to reinforce the 
Southern forts, or any of them, in accordance with the repeated 
suggestions of Lieutenant-General Scott and the urgent recom- 
mendations of his Secretary of State, Judge Black, and others, 
had produced its legitimate result. No restraint had been placed 
upon such hostile measures as those in control in the seceded 
States had seen fit to inaugurate and to perfect, and it was now, 
in the judgment of those best fitted to decide the important ques- 
tion, too late to attempt such relief without precipitating a 
conflict, become in the very nature of the situation inevitable. 

Had such relief been promptly sent when Anderson, from Fort 
Moultrie, clearly defining his position and his necessities, had 
urged with an earnestness carried to the verge of military pro- 
priety, that they should be sent to him; when two of the most 
distinguished members of his Cabinet, who from the beginning of 
the difficulties had tendered to him but one advice and besought 
him to act; when no State had yet attempted to secede from the 
Union — the situation might have been far different. It is true 
that the organized force legitimately under his control, as 
reported by Lieutenant-General Scott, was small, but it was at the 
time, at least, sufficient to show the purpose of the Government and 
to hold Fort Sumter until Congress could come to the rescue of the 
country. But the President did nothing. His fear that by his 
own act he might inaugurate hostilities and so bring on civil war, 
sustained by his political convictions that the Union could not be 
preserved by a war between the States, his overwhelming desire 
for peace and his hope to keep the border States, amounted to a 
timidity which "wholly incapacitated him for action." Launched 
into political power in Pennsylvania, by an abandonment of his 



286 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

previous political principles, he had, throughout a long public 
career, remained the politician, and had rarely risen to the 
level of practical statesmanship. Mr. Buchanan knew that 
the war was coming ; he saw it in every feature of those 
who approached him, he heard it in their every tone. In 
addiiion, he was, up to the moment when Anderson moved 
the command of Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, largely in- 
fluenced by Southern sentiment and controlled by Southern men. 
As far as his constitutional obligations permitted, he yielded 
to the pressure so constantly brought to bear upon him, and 
accorded to them their every demand. They were his constant 
associates. In his Cabinet they were, to an almost exclusive 
extent, his advisers, and they ruled him with an inflexible purpose. 
He had agreed with them that the status then existing should 
not be disturbed, and, until Anderson's movement, it was not 
disturbed, nor then by his consent or even with his knowledge. 
His policy was to protract, not to meet the issue, which, in the 
face of the country, was precipitated by his officer in command 
at Charleston. He had until then ever failed to realize the real 
nature and extent of the revolution, accustomed as he was to use 
** State politics merely as counters in the game for Federal 
power;" he recognized the present popular excitement as nothing 
more than another of the many agitations by which men had 
come into power, and reckoned that, like the others, it would run 
its course and be followed by a reaction and peace. His public 
life as President had not won the affections of his fellow-men. 
Indirect in his ways of action, wary and full of statecraft, with a 
cynical estimate of men from party experience, Mr. Buchanan 
had utterly misunderstood the real nature of the crisis and had 
compromised "a great position by feeble acts;" and when at last 
he did come to appreciate his position, his instinct was to save 
his administration and to protect himself. He had come into 
his high office at a time when the antagonism between the sections 
had attained its highest point of development. The various com- 
promises that had been adopted had proved but lulls in the 
storm, and two phases of civilization, wholly at variance with 
each other, had developed to a point of opposition without hope of 
adjustment. And yet Mr. Buchanan desired and strove to serve 
his country. He had asked Congress for those powers necessary 
to meet the unprecedented condition of things, but whose exer- 



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRA TION CLOSES. 287 

cise without the action of Congress he deemed impossible. To 
all of his appeals for such powers Congress treated him with 
indifference if not with contempt. His able message against the 
right of secession, his declaration that he was resolved to main- 
tain the laws of the nation, protect its property and to collect its 
revenue, had its offset, unfortunately, in his diplomacy with 
those whom he could not control, in his promises to preserve the 
status, to receive Commissioners, and to refer them to Congress. 
The policy was an individual one and not that of his Cabinet, 
whose Northern members he had not consulted, but which arose 
from suggestions and promises of the Southern members, both of 
his Cabinet and of Congress, as well as from unauthorized and 
indirect communication with the South Carolina authorities. And 
in this policy he persevered, uninfluenced by the resignation of 
his Secretary of State, General Cass, unmoved by the urgent 
entreaties of the Attorney-General, Judge Black, until the move- 
ment of Major Anderson and the seizure of the forts in Charles- 
ton Harbor forced upon him the necessity of immediate and 
decided action beyond the possibility of evasion. 

His decision in regard to Anderson, and the result of that 
decision, forced from him at last the acknowledgment that he 
believed there was a revolution. It placed him wholly upon the 
side of Northern sentiment and largely determined his future 
action. The vacant places in his Cabinet were now filled by 
earnest and patriotic men, with whom he worked in harmony 
until the last. But it was too late, and he saw his Southern 
friends whose advice had influenced him, and whose suggestions 
he had followed, condemn him for having followed their counsel, 
suspend even their personal relations with him, and leave him 
one by one. And thus, with the issues postponed from day to 
day, with no approach to any settlement, with the country torn 
by dissension, with an entire section revolutionary and defiant, 
with a Treasury impoverished and despoiled designedly for a 
preconceived purpose, with a Congress wholly distrustful of him, 
and with a large proportion of his countrymen attributing to him 
and his official course the responsibility of the impending ruin, 
the administration of James Buchanan passed into history; and 
when history shall come to pen the record of the close of his career, 
it will judge him not from what he did, but what, from his great 
opportunities and grave responsibilities, he utterly failed to do. 



288 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

The new administration had hardly undertaken the direction 
of the Government, when the subject of Fort Sumter in its various 
phases was forced upon their attention, and under circumstances 
that rendered immediate and effective action necessary. At any 
moment hostilities might commence at Charleston; the Southern 
Commissioners were in Washington to inaugurate negotiations 
looking to a positive settlement of the questions arising out of 
the action of the seceded States, and with especial reference to the 
Government property within the limits of the Confederacy. It 
was at this crisis, and on the 5th of March, that the letter of 
Major Anderson with its enclosures was laid before the President 
by the Secretary of War, Mr. Holt, in a letter of singular dis- 
tinctness and power. The Secretary recalled the statements of 
Major Anderson received from time to time, ' ' that he was where 
the Government might reinforce him at its leisure; that he was 
safe; that he could command the harbor as long as the Govern- 
ment wished to keep it." His communication of the 6th of 
January was also referred to, in which he had reported that he 
could hold the fort against any force which could be brought against 
him. These, said the Secretary, as well as the "intelligent 
statements " of Lieutenant Talbot, who had been sent to Wash- 
ington, had relieved the Government of any apprehension for 
his safety, and on the i6th of January Major Anderson had been 
so informed, and also that it was not the purpose of the Govern- 
ment at that time to reinforce him, but that whenever in his 
judgment supplies or reinforcement were necessary for his safety 
or a successful defense, he was to communicate the fact, and a 
"prompt and vigorous effort " would be made to send them. 
Major Anderson had not since made any such request. He had 
reported the progress of the batteries in construction around him, 
but as late as the 30th of January he had urged with emphasis, 
that he hoped that no attempt would be made by friends to 
throw supplies in, and that their doing so would do more harm 
than good. 

His letter of the 5th of February was also quoted and the 
suggestion made by him of "a small party successfully slipping 
in," had been considered carefully and rejected as imprac- 
ticable. 

His chief engineer officer seemed to be of the same opinion 
in regards to reinforcements, and in his letter to his chief, of 



MAJOR ANDERSON FEELS SECURE. 289 

the 14th of January, he says: " I do not consider it good policy 
to send reinforcements here at this time. We can hold our own 
as long as it is necessary to do so." 

In view of these very distinct declarations of Major Anderson 
and the earnest desire to avoid a collision, the line of policy laid 
down had been adhered to by the Government; and in anticipa- 
tion of a call from Major Anderson the Ward expedition, under 
the supervision of Lieutenant-General Scott, had been prepared 
and was ready to sail, but it was not upon the scale approaching 
the " seeming exaggerated estimate of Major Anderson." The 
Government were unprepared for the disclosures of Major Ander- 
son, and were taken by surprise, as he had not before intimated 
any such necessity. 

But however impressed the Government might have been with 
the statements of Major Anderson as quoted by the Secretary of 
War, it is not the less certain that since his entry into Fort 
Sumter he had been impressed with the steadily growing im- 
portance and strength of the works around him, and of the 
necessity of the employment of a large force in case it should be 
determined to relieve him, and of this he kept the Government 
constantly apprised. He felt himself at this time comparatively 
secure, and his every effort, as well as that of the officers under 
him, was to strengthen his position by every means in his power. 
His views since his entrance into Fort Sumter had undergone a 
change in regard to the sending of reinforcements. He did not 
now apply that such should be sent to him, as he felt that it 
would put upon him the responsibility of precipitating the con- 
flict and inaugurating civil war. Two days after his entrance 
into the work he had informed his Government that, " God will- 
ing," he would in a few days be so strong that the South Caro- 
linians "would hardly be foolish enough to attack (me) him." 
He thought that the city of Charleston was entirely in his power; 
that he could cut off its communications by sea and close its 
harbor by destroying its light-houses, and he believed in his ability 
to do it. 

On the 5th of February he had reported to his Government 
the progress and character of the works around him as follows: 
" Their engineering appears to be well devised and well executed, 
and their works even in their present condition, will make it impos- 
sible for any hostile force other than a large and well-appointed 



290 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



one, to enter this harbor, and the chances are that it will then be 
at a great sacrifice of life. Again, upon the 14th of February he 
reported that " vessels will be under fire from Morris Island after 
they pass the first battery," and, in a subsequent communication, 
that they would be under such fire "until they got under the 
walls of this work." These opinions were early entertained by 
Major Anderson, and made known to his Government, and when 
at a later period an able and experienced head had arrived in 
Charleston to direct the operations against him, the increased activ- 
ity soon manifested, the rapid establishment of formidable 
works to close the harbor, and the engineering ability everywhere 
displayed, soon converted the opinions of Major Anderson into 
a firm conviction which the result in every way justified. Yet he 
did not ask for reinforcements, and his reasons therefor have 
been set forth with great clearness in a response made by him to a 
lady correspondent who had written to him on the 5 th of April, 1861, 
from Rhode Island, in sympathy with his position, as well as in 
reflection upon the Government for its inaction in tendering to 
him voluntary aid. After an acknowledgment of the offer. Major 
Anderson says: " Justice, however, compels me not to stop here, 
but to take upon myself the blame of the Government's not having 
sent to my rescue. Had I demanded reinforcements while Mr. 
Holt was in the War Department I know that he would have des- 
patched them at all hazards. I did not ask them, because I knew 
that the moment it should be known here that additional troops 
were coming, they would assault me and thus inaugurate civil war. 
My policy, feeling — thanks be to God! — secure for the present in 
my stronghold, was to keep still, to preserve peace, to give time for 
the quieting of the excitement, which was at one time very high 
throughout this region, in the hope of avoiding bloodshed. There 
is now a prospect that thai hope will be realized, that the separation 
which has been inevitable for months, will be consummated with- 
out the shedding of one drop of blood. The ladies must not 
then blame the latter part of Mr. Buchanan's administration, nor the 
present one, for not having sent me reinforcements. I demanded 
them under Mr. Floyd. The time when they might have been 
sent has passed weeks ago; and I must ask you, too, in praising 
me, not to do injustice to my brother officers, a vast majority of 
whom would, placed in the same circumstances, have acted at 
least as well as I have done. God has, I feel, been pleased to 



RIFLED CANNON SENT FROM ENGLAND. 



291 



use me as an instrument in effecting a purpose which will, I trust, 
end in making us all a better and a wiser people. ... A 
hope may be indulged in that our errant sisters, thus leaving us, 
as friends, may at some future time be won back by conciliation 
and justice."* 

Anderson now felt strong in his position, and he frequently 
remarked to the writer that he controlled the situation. His 
whole effort was to effect, as far as it lay in his power, a peaceful 
solution of the difficulties. Within Fort Sumter the work yet re- 
maining to be done was pushed on with vigor and enthusiasm. The 
trouble that had at one time existed among the workmen had 
ceased. No more of the laborers had for some time been dis- 
charged, and all were employed at any necessary work, which they 
accepted willingly. The enlisted men were in good spirits and 
worked with alacrity, every one seeming to feel the responsibility 
of his position. The difficulties in regard to the fresh pro- 
visions had been adjusted; the mails were sent regularly, and the 
garrison maintained in a high state of health. Every effort to 
strengthen and to prepare the work to resist an attack that all felt 
must sooner or later be made upon it, was made, and in the 
daily and detailed reports of his action, from what he could see 
and infer as to the works erected around him, Major Anderson 
kept the Government at Washington fully apprised of his con- 
dition and prospects. 

The same course was followed by the engineer officer, who 
in his daily reports to his chief, which were often submitted to the 
Secretary of War and to the General-in-Chief, gave a minute and 
detailed journal of events. In addition, admirable sketches were 
made by Captain Seymour from time to time, of the work going 
on around the fort, as far as could be ascertained by observation 
through our glasses, as well as what was done inside of the work 
by the command. 

A notice that three rifled cannon had been shipped from Eng- 
land to Charleston had arrested his attention, and on the 7th of 
February he reports to his Government that such an addition to the 
batteries opposed to him would make his position much less 
secure than he had considered it, and that it would be necessary 
to reinforce him in a few days after the commencement of hostili- 



* From the original letter of Major Anderson, in writer's possession. 



292 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



ties. His anticipations were fully realized. But one gun arrived. 
It was placed in position on Cummings Point, and, as will be sub- 
sequently seen, rendered efificient service. 

Meantime, Lieutenant Hall had returned from Washington, 
bringing to Major Anderson and his command the approval of 
the authorities and of General Scott, which served to encourage 
the men and confirm them in their work. His position had sub- 
jected him to many annoyances, which he felt, and which com- 
pelled him to correspond constantly with the authorities in Charles- 
ton. On the morning of the 12th of February, one of the 
guard-boats that were constantly on duty around the fort, 
approached so near that she was hailed by the sentinel and 
warned off, but continuing to approach she was fired over, when 
she altered her course. It was considered fortunate that the bat- 
tery did not open. 

Upon the immediate representations made to the Secretary of 
War of the State, ''renewed instructions" were issued to the 
vessels to keep at a proper distance, so as to prevent any collision. 
Packages for the officers that had come to their address, were 
retained without any just cause — the private property of Captain 
Foster had not been sent, and also some private property belong- 
ing to one of the men, which had been left at Fort Moultrie. 
The popular feeling in Charleston was wholly hostile to the 
retention of the work by the Government, and the principal 
papers kept alive that feeling by a constant succession of articles 
calculated to excite and alarm.* 

The people were incensed against the Governor for permitting 
provisions to be sent to the fort, and they threatened to prevent 
it, but the Governor had declared that, if necessary, he would 
order a " company of soldiers to put them on board the boat." 

The work upon the floating battery was now near completion, 
and in anticipation of its use, Major Anderson asks for instruc- 
tions in case of its taking position near his work. To this the 
Secretary of War replied on the 23d. He was informed that it 



* Washington, February 21,6 p.m. — There is the best of reason for believ- 
ing that Holt designs reinforcing secretly by boais at night. The reinforce- 
ments ha .ring already been sent, you may look out for them at any moment. 
The whole anxiety of Scott and the coercionists centers now in Fort Sumter. 
There the Cabinet has determined that Lincoln shall find everything ready to 
his hand. —Charleston Mercury. 



SECRETARY OF WAR TO ANDERSON: 



293 



was ' ' not easy to answer satisfactorily this important question * ' 
at such a distance from the scene of action. 

The policy indicated to him in a previous communication 
must continue to guide him. He was to act strictly on the defen- 
sive, and to avoid, consistently with his safety, all collision with 
the force around him. These instructions would not now be 
changed, but if he had sufificient evidence that the battery was 
advancing to assault him, he would be justified, in self-defense, in 
not awaiting its arrival, but in repelling it by force. If it was 
only approaching *' to take up a position at a good distance," and 
his safety was not "clearly endangered," he should act with 
that forbearance which had distinguished him in permitting the 
South Carolinians to strengthen Fort Moultrie and erect new bat- 
teries for the defense of the harbor. And this would keep the 
pledge of the War Department to Colonel Hayne. Despatches 
had been received which had impressed the President with the 
belief that there would be no immediate attack upon Fort Sumter, 
and that the labors of the Peace Congress, then in session, added 
to the powerful motives existing to avoid a collision. This im- 
portant letter is given in full: 

" War Department, February 23, 1861. 

" Major Robert Anderson, 

<< j?{f'^f Artillery, Com'g Fori Sumter, Charleston Harbor, 
S. C. : 

** Sir : It is proper I should state distinctly that you hold 
Fort Sumter as you held Fort Moultrie, under the verbal orders 
communicated by Major Buell, subsequently modified by 
instructions addressed to you from this Department, under date 
of the 2 1 St of December, i860. 

" In your letter to Adjutant-General Cooper, of the i6th 
instant, you say : 

'< ' I should like to be instructed on a question which may 
present itself in reference to the floating battery, viz. : What 
course would it be proper for me to take if, without a declaration 
of war or a notification of hostilities, I should see them approach- 
ing my fort with that battery ? They may attempt placing it 
within good distance before a declaration of hostile intention.' 

"It is not easy to answer satisfactorily this important ques- 
tion at this distance from the scene of action. In my letter to 
you of the 10th of January I said : 

"You will continue, as heretofore, to act strictly on the 
defensive, and to avoid, by all means compatible with the safety 
of your command, a collision with the hostile forces by which you 
are surrounded.' 



294 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



'' The policy thus indicated must still govern your conduct. 

'<The President is not disposed at the present moment to 
change the instructions under which you have been heretofore 
acting, or to occupy any other than a defensive position. If 
however, you are convmced by sufficient evidence that the 
raft of which you speak is advancing for the purpose of 
making an assault upon the fort, then you would be justified on 
the principle of self-defense in not awaiting its actual arrival 
there, but in repelling force by force on its approach. If, on the 
other hand, you have reason to believe that it is approaching 
merely to take up a position at a good distance should the pending 
question be not amicably settled, then, unless your safety is so 
clearly endangered as to render resistance an act of necessary 
self-defense and protection, you will act with that forbearance 
which has distinguished you heretofore in permitting the South 
Carolinians to strengthen Fort Moultrie and erect new batteries 
for the defense of the harbor. This will be but a redemption of 
the implied pledge contained in my letter on behalf of the Presi- 
dent to Colonel Hayne, in which, when speaking of Fort Sumter, 
it is said : 

" ' The attitude of that garrison, as has been often declared, is 
neither menacing nor defiant nor unfriendly. It is acting under 
orders to stand strictly on the defensive, and the Government 
and people of South Carolina must know that they can never 
receive aught but shelter from its guns, unless, in the absence of 
all provocation, they should assault it and seek its destruction.' 

"A despatch received in this city a few days since from 
Governor Pickens, connected with the declaration on the part of 
those convened at Montgomery, claiming to act on behalf of 
South Carolina as well as the other seceded States, that the ques- 
tion of the possession of the forts and other public property 
therein had been taken from the decision of the individual States, 
and would probably be preceded in its settlement by negotiation 
with the Government of the United States, has impressed the 
President with a belief that there will be no immediate attack on 
Fort Sumter, and the hope is indulged that wise and patriotic 
counsels may prevail and prevent it altogether. 

" The labors of the Peace Congress have not yet closed, and 
the presence of that body here adds another to the powerful 
motives already existing for the adoption of every measure, except 
in necessary self-defense, for avoiding a collision with the forces 
that surround you. 

'• Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
"J. Holt." 

Again, on the 28th inst., the Adjutant-General at Washington 
informs him, by order of the Secretary of War, that a basis of 
settlement had been agreed upon by the Peace Convention, and 



FRAME BUILDINGS USED FOR FUEL. 



295 



that the Secretary entertained the hope that nothing of a hostile 
character would occur. The criticisms of their position, and of 
the action of the Government, in the daily journals of Charleston, 
discouraged the garrison, who felt that the Government had, in a 
measure, deserted them. Letters from all quarters flowed in 
upon Major Anderson and upon his officers, and he devoted a large 
proportion of his time in responding to them. The speeches of the 
President-elect as he approached Washington, from their pacific na- 
ture produced a depressing effect upon the garrison, who were dis- 
appointed in them. Major Anderson became silent and thought- 
ful, and said that he was " in the hands of God." The position 
of the garrison, their future, and the capacity of the fort to resist 
an attack — become now, to them, almost inevitable — was the sub- 
ject of daily discussion, as the necessities of their condition became 
more urgent. Towards the close of February the supply of fuel 
ran short, and the temporary frame structures on the parade were 
taken down for fire-wood, as had been anticipated by Major 
Anderson in his communication to the War Department of the 
25th of January. On the 23d it was announced by the engineer 
ofificer that he had to take down another temporary building to 
obtain fuel, and that a second one yet standing would furnish 
fuel as long as the provisions lasted. On the 26th a third build- 
ing was taken down, leaving two remaining structures with twelve 
gun-carriages as the only material for fuel; and on the 13th of 
March, the supply being nearly exhausted, the apparatus from 
the blacksmith's shop was removed into one of the casemates, 
and the building used as fuel. 

The parade was thus gradually cleared, and the stone flagging 
which encumbered it placed on end, so that shells falling upon 
it would be buried in the sand. Two of the enlisted men whose 
term of service had expired, determined to remain and share the 
fate of the garrison. 

On the 28th of February a strong recommendation was made 
by all of the engineer officers, that the armament of the 
gorge, which now consisted of but six 24-pounders, should be 
at once increased by altering the casemate into barbette 
carriages, and mounting guns upon them. The recommenda- 
tion was approved by Major Anderson, and the whole engineer 
force was put to work, under Lieutenant Snyder, upon carrying 
it out. Upon the following day one carriage was so altered and 



296 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



adapted to the new condition, and raised to the parapet, and one 
42-pounder mounted upon it so that the gun could be used 
** with more effect than the others on the barbette tier." 

The armament of this tier now consisted of twenty-seven guns. 
The parapet in front of one of the 24 - pounders at the 
left gorge angle had been cut away, so that the gun could be 
depressed to eighteen degrees and cover the end of the wharf 
with its fire. Machicouli galleries lined with one-half inch iron 
plate were placed on each face and flank, and on the gorge com- 
manding the main gate. The necessary ammunition, consisting 
of grape and canister and shot and shell in abundance for each 
gun, was placed at intervals upon the gorge. Additional 8-inch 
shells, to be used as grenades and to explode upon the ten- 
sion of the lanyard to which they were attached, were also 
arranged at convenient distances for immediate use. Guns were 
moved, and remounted in better positions. On the 12th a second 
lo-inch Columbiad was raised to the parapet and placed in posi- 
tion upon the left flank. Large barrels filled with rocks, with 
an 8-inch shell in the centre — a suggestion due to Captain Sey- 
mour, and carried out by him — were placed along the parapet. 
Upon being rolled over, the shell was to explode by means of 
the friction tube attached to a lanyard of proper length. 

The forty-one large openings on the second tier, and which 
upon the occupancy of the work had been temporarily filled, were 
now permanently closed. A three-foot wall of brick laid in 
cement, and supported by stone flagging or sand or dry bricks and 
refuse material, rendered them as secure as the means at the dis- 
posal of the engineer would allow. 

The same number of guns as en barbette composed the 
armament of the first tier, and of these eighteen were in readiness 
for " instant service." 

For greater security, where nine guns were mounted, but not 
immediately required for use, stone flagging or brick laid in mortar 
in addition to the outer shutter, closed the embrasure temporarily. 
Where there were no guns the embrasures were closed by an 18- 
inch brick wall in mortar, by dry stone flagging or by brick and 
stone in mortar. The embrasures in front of the guns for 
immediate service were closed by an additional inner 6-inch 
shutter, the two secured and fastened by an iron key. Stones were 
removed from the enrockment outside the fort below the embra- 
sures, so as to increase the difficulties of an assault. 



GORGE WALL STRENGTHENED. 



297 



The gorge wall received the special attention of the engineers. 
It was the weakest part of the work, and this was increased by the 
large number of windows and ventilators in its structure. It was 
soon evident, too, that it was to be subjected to the heaviest fire 
from the enemy's guns, and every device that could be suggested 
was employed by the engineers in its protection. Its windows and 
ventilators were thoroughly protected by two solid iron jambs, 
which were placed in the recesses of each of the windows of the 
second tier. The doors on the lower tier were secured by thick 
wooden shutters against a wall of brick nine inches thick, and on 
the outside heavy stones were placed, made solid by wedges of 




ADJUSTABLE IRON SHUTTER, LOWER TIER. 



molten lead. The parade had now been cleared of encumbrance, the 
temporary buildings gone, and the stone flagging placed upright. 
To secure the hospital, splinter-proof traverses were constructed, 
and revetted with stone in front of the hospital and ordnance room. 
The main entrance to the work, another source of weakness, was 
now closed by a strong wall of stone and brick built against the 
outer gate, in which an embrasure was cut and an 8-inch seacoast 
howitzer mounted over it, and the wall itself loop-holed for 
musketry, and the gate covered with half-inch iron plates. 

Anderson now determined to mine the wharf, and on the 9th 
of February two mines were laid containing twenty-five pounds of 



298 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



powder, which were completed by the 13th, with the preparations 
for firing them; at the same time two fougasses were located 
against the sea wall and upon the esplanade. They were charged 
with fifty pounds of powder, and were ready for firing by the 
26th. The arrangement of the mines as laid by Captain Foster 
was unsatisfactory to Major Anderson, who directed them to be 
taken up and relaid as he required, and preparations made to fire 
them from the inside. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Work at Sumter— Reports of Anderson and Captain Foster — Work at 
Cummings Toint— Firing for range from channel batteries — Foster reports 
batteries around — Inaugural of President Lincoln — Warlike construction 
placed upon it General Beauregard assumes command — Urged by Mont- 
gomery Government to push the work— Reports of evacuation of Fort 
Sumter — Confederate Secretary of War informs Beauregard — Apprehen- 
sion as to mines — Correspondence of Beauregard and Anderson— Terms 
required — Anderson " deeply hurt " at the conditions imposed — Wigfali 
establishes recruiting station in Baltimore for the Confederacy — Adjutant- 
General Samuel Cooper, United States Army, resigns his commission — 
Takes similar position in the Confederacy — Peace Convention in session 
in Virginia — Defeats resolution of secession — President Lincoln determines 
to confer with some prominent Union member — ^J. B. Baldwin selected - 
Propositions said to havebeen made— Denials — Controversy in consequence 
— Baldwin returns — Convention passes the Ordinance of Secession — Presi- 
dent's proclamation — Both sides prepare for the inevitable struggle. 

Almost daily through the month of March both Anderson and 
Foster made reports to Washington, and principally with reference 
to the works going on around the fort, their progress and arma- 
ment. In Fort Sumter the time was occupied in mounting and 
rearranging heavy guns at the parapet of the gorge, and in strength- 
ening the gorge wall itself. The exterior openings of the first tier 
loop-holes on the gorge were filled up, a suggestion made by Cap- 
tain Doubleday. The main gate was strengthened to resist the 
shock in firing the 8-inch howitzer in position, traverses were 
erected in front of the hospital and ordnance storeroom, and the 
parapet was cut away so as to permit the lo-inch Columbiad to be 
traversed. On the 27th the report made by Captain Seymour and 
Lieutenant Snyder, as to the exact condition of the work, was 
communicated confidentially to the War Department by Major 
Anderson. At that time the armament of the fort consisted of 
twenty-seven guns, en barbette and twenty-seven on the lower tier, 
eighteen of which were in readiness for instant service. On the 
parade were four 8-inch and one lo-inch Columbiads. 

Upon the same day Captain Foster enclosed to his chief the 
following sketch of the armament of the fort. 

299 



;oo 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



Major Anderson had early recognized the new purpose man- 
ifested in regard to him, and on the 9th of March, as previously 
stated, he had communicated to his Government that even then any 
vessels coming in by the Morris Island channel would be under 
fire of the batteries from the time they crossed the bar until they 
reached his work. " More earnestness " was now reported by 
Foster, as well as the landing of heavy guns on siege carriages. On 
the 9th a large guard-ship was anchored on the bar, and two cut- 
ters, armed with guns seized previously by the South Carolinians, 
took up a position near Cummings Point, on the "main ship 




AN EMBRASURE OUTSIDE. 



channel." As the month of March progressed, the batteries in 
progress at Cummings Point were closed in the rear by a line of 
intrenchments composed of redoubts connected by parapets and 
secured in the rear from our fire. Toward the middle of the 
month there appeared to be a lull in the operations going on around 
the fort. It was ascribed to the pacific news which had come on 
the nth, when 150 guns were fired from the batteries around. 

The report was that Fort Sumter was to be evacuated. It was 
in no way official, and yet the impression produced upon the gar- 
rison was so positive in its character that preparations in antici- 
pation of orders to that effect were commenced. Under this 



FOSTER REPORTS BATTERIES AROUND. 30! 

impression the garrison labored until the last. The work around 
the fort seemed to be at " a standstill, and most of the men, both 
military and laboring, were withdrawn from them." By the i6th, 
however, the work was resumed and "considerable activity" 
exhibited in the batteries on Morris Island. 

On the 15th, a gun was fired from the floating battery m 
Charleston, which served to show that it, too, had now received its 
armament. On the i8th, near midnight, one of the buoys that 
marked the middle ship channel, about half a mile east of the 
fort, was removed. Upon the same day the position of twenty- 
three guns was observed, as indicated by the finng that took place 
for range or experiment on Morris Island. Again there seemed to 
be a relaxation in the work, although it did not cease entirely at 
some points, and the engineer officer reported on the 20th that " all 
operations looking to an attack on this fort have ceased." 

The work went on steadily upon the batteries bearing upon the 
channels. The new operations were soon recognized by Major An- 
derson. As the month progressed, more energetic action was 
exhibited, again to be followed by an apparent suspension of work 
at some points, and a lack of activity; and he reported on March 
16, " The little that is being done is at the channel batteries on 
Morris Island, and the mortar battery on James Island." It was at 
this period that the messengers before mentioned arrived to con- 
sult with Major Anderson, and which seemed, to the garrison, to 
confirm the report that they were to be withdrawn to the North. 
On the 27th a new battery, not far from the Moultrie House, on 
Sullivan's Island was ordered, making,as Major Anderson thought, 
four batteries between Fort Moultrie and the eastern end of Sul- 
livan's Island. "They practice daily," said he, "firing shot 
and shell in the direction of the Swash and Main channels ; their 
practice is pretty good." 

Meantime, the floating battery, with its armament on board, had 
been moved from its moorings to a position that could not be 
detected by us. There was a feverish anticipation of some 
immediate change, and an increased sensitiveness in regard to 
any dealings with the city. A boat that had come to the fort to 
bear a letter from the Confederate general to Major Anderson 
had, without the knowledge of the latter, left a small parcel. 

This was made the subject of a communication to General 
Beauregard, with a statement that orders had been given to "pre- 



--02 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

vent the recurrence of such irregularitj^;" and the letter concluded 
with an expression which showed that his removal was confidently 
anticipated by Major Anderson. " Trusting," said he, " that in 
a few days we shall be placed in a position which will be more 
agreeable and acceptable to both of us than the anomalous one 
we now occupy, I am, &:c."* 

The last of March had now come. Everything was quiet as 
the work progressed around the fort, apparently closing up the 
embrasures of the breaching batteries with sand-bags laid in 
solidly. From the great extent of the range, as well from the 
reports, Major Anderson was convinced that the three batteries 
on Morris Island outside of the Star of the West battery had 
certainly guns of very heavy calibre. On the last day of the month, 
the members of the State Convention visited the batteries on 
Morris Island and Fort Moultrie, when extensive firing took place. 

After close observation the engineer officer reported to his 
chief the following, as the present armament, " very nearly," at 
Cummings Point and on Morris Island. 

" Fort Sumter, S. C, March 31, 1861. 
" General Jos. G. Totten, 

" Chief Engineer United States Army, Washington, D. C. : 
'■'General: Yesterday the members of the State Convention 
visited the batteries on Morris Island and Fort Moultrie, and from 
both places extensive firing took place in honor of the event. 
This gave me an opportunity of observing what batteries have 
been increased in strength since my last report on this subject. 
" The following is the present armament, very nearly, viz.: 
"Battery No. i. — Four guns. Embrasures closed by sand- 
bags. Not fired yesterday. 

" Mortar battery between Nos. i and 2. — Three mortars. 
Fired yesterday. These have practiced much lately, to obtain the 
range and length of fuse for this fort. 

" Battery No. 2, iron-clad. — Three heavy guns. Two of them 
fired yesterday. 

"Battery No. 3. — Three guns. Embrasures closed with sand- 
bags. Did not fire. 

" Mortar battery between Nos. 3 and 4. — Two mortars. Fired 
yesterday. 

" Battery No. 4. — Three guns. Two fired. 
" Battery No. 5. — Four heavy guns, one Columbiad or 8-inch 
seacoast howitzer. Two fired yesterday. I think there are six 
guns in this battery, although only four have been seen to fire. 



* Major Anderson, 28th March, 1861. 




SKETCH OF THE ARMAMENT. 
303 



3o4 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



^^ Star of the fF^j/ battery. — Four heavy guns, one of them 
an 8-inch Columbiad or 8-inch seacoast howitzer. All fired 
yesterday. 

" Battery No. 7. — These guns are not all in the same battery, 
but are distributed along the beach apparently in three batteries. 
Eleven guns fired yesterday. All were very heavy guns except 
two, which I think were field-pieces in a sort of second tier. 

" Above these batteries, on the sand-hills, is a line of intrench- 
ments surrounding a house, and also several Lents. The field- 
pieces are apparently capable of being used to defend the flanks 
of this intrenchment, and to fire on the channel. Their rear is 
covered, each with a traverse. 

" It was evident in this firing that not all the guns in position 
were fired. 

"At Fort Moultrie the firing exhibited the same complete 
armament as last reported. 

"The provisions that I laid in for my force having become 
exhausted, and the supplies of the command being too limited to 
spare me any more, I am obliged to discharge nearly all my men 
to-day. I retain only enough to man a boat. 

" I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient 
servant, 

"J. G. Foster, 

" Captain Engineers." 

Meantime, despatches were sent from emissaries in Washing- 
ton which tended to keep alive the excitement, if not to precipi- 
tate the issue daily becoming more imminent. On the 4th of 
March, the day of the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln to the 
Presidency, a telegram was sent to the Governor of South Caro- 
lina, urging him to prevent any attack without the authority of 
the Confederate Government;* that the inaugural meant war, and 
that there was strong ground for belief that reinforcements would 
be speedily sent. A warlike construction of the inaugural of 
Mr. Lincoln was placed upon it by the Southern element at Wash- 
ington,! who agreed that it was the purpose of the new President 
to collect the revenue, ''to hold Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens, 
and to retake the other places; " that the President was a "man 
of will and firmness," and that his Cabinet would yield to him, 
and that thus plans would be at once put into execution. It was 
feared, too, that Virginia would not pass a Secession Ordinance 



* Wigfall to Pickens, March 4, 1861, p. 261. 

t L. Q. Washington to Walker, Confederate Secretary of War, March 5, 
1861, p. 263, " War of the Rebellion," 



PREPARA TIONS FOR A TTACK LVADEQUA TE. 305 

unless a collision took place, when public opinion would enforce 
such action. That there was a majority of old Federal submis- 
sionists, who had gotten into the Convention, and under the pre- 
tense that they were resistance men. 

Mr. Roger A. Pryor, of Virginia, in a speech delivered 
at the Charleston Hotel, Charleston, S. C, on the loth of April, 
1 86 1, stated that ever since he was capable of thinking upon 
political affairs, his studies had been determined by the author- 
ity of the great statesman of South Carolina, and that he could 
not recall any exhibition at all adequate to the action of South 
Carolina in the true elements of the moral and sublime. He said: 
" I thank you especially that you have at last annihilated this ac- 
cursed Union, reeking with corruption and insolent with excess of 
tyranny. Not only is it gone, but gone forever. As sure as to- 
morrow's sun will rise upon us, just so sure will old Virginia be a 
member of the Southern Confederacy; and I will tell your Gov- 
ernor what will put her in the Southern Confederacy in less than 
an hour by a Shrewsbury clock. Strike a blow ! (Tremendous 
applause.) The very moment that blood is shed, old Virginia 
will make common cause with her sisters of the South." 

The same anticipation seemed also to prevail among the mili- 
tary in Charleston Harbor. On the 6th of March the commanding 
officer of Fort Moultrie was ordered to send immediately to the 
five-gun battery commanding Maffit Channel two 32-pounders, and 
to have them mounted. He was to " be on the lookout for the Cru- 
sader, a four-gun brig, reported to be on her way with 120 men 
for the reinforcement of Fort Sumter." But the means at the 
disposal of that officer were limited, and would seem to show that 
at that period the preparations for attack were wholly inadequate. 
He reports that he had no means at his disposal to send the guns, 
nor had he a gin to dismount or mount them; he had not a 
single artificer to send, and that his command consisted of some 
"290 indifferent artillerymen," "318 helpless infantry recruits," 
almost without arms, without clothing, and totally and entirely 
unfit to meet the enemy.* He thought, however, that if the 
gunboats did their duty, he could attend to the "case" of the 
Crusader with the force at his disposal. At this date there were 
104 companies "organized and received " under the laws passed, 



* "War of the Rebellion," Ripley to Ferguson, A. D. C, March 6, 1861. 



3o6 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

amounting in the aggregate to 8,835 ^^^''^ and file, one division 
of four brigades under the command of Major-General M. L. 
Bonham, a former Member of Congress from the State. 

On the 6th of March, by virtue of his orders, General Beaure- 
gard assumed command of all the troops, regulars, volunteers 
and militia, on duty in and near Charleston Harbor; announced 
the ofificers of his staff,* and at once inaugurated a series of 
movements and changes, which were soon observable, and which 
greatly mfluenced the result. He directed " that the embrasure 
enfilading battery and the battery beyond Moultrie be constructed 
first," Guns were moved to more effective positions; the work 
on Cummings Point was stopped, except at the iron-clad battery 
and "at the condemned mortar battery," and work on the chan- 
nel batteries was at once begun. The officer of Ordnance had 
called his attention to the condition of things in his department, 
and to the fact that, from the want of proper props and appro- 
priate tackle, the guns then mounted, from a want of " inclina- 
tion," would probably dismount themselves. His deficiencies 
in essential articles were reported, and also the fact that the cut- 
ting of the limited number of fuses at Fort Moultrie so as to 
multiply them, would, he feared, render the fuses of "very little 
use at all." Such was the incomplete condition of things, that 
on the 8th of March the commanding general reported to his 
Government that through his "cautious representation" all 
seemed to be aware that they were not yet ready for the con- 
test;! that it was first necessary to keep reinforcements from 
Fort Sumter by increasing the channel defenses, and this he 
hoped to be able to accomplish in a week or ten days. The 
Government at Montgomery was no less apprehensive and anxious 
upon the subject of reinforcements, and on the 8th of March the 
Secretary of War urged upon General Beauregard the necessity 
of pushing forward his "contemplated works with all possible 
expedition;" that the reinforcement of Fort Sumter "must be 
prevented at all hazards " and by every "conceivable agency; " 
that Fort Sumter would open fire upon him if reinforcements 
should reach it, and that it was now silent only " because of the 



* Captain D. F. Jones, Ass't. Adj. -Gen.; Captain S. D. Lee, Artillery, 
A. D. C, A. A. Q. M. Gen. and Com'y; Captain S. Wragg Ferguson, A. D. 
C. ; First Lieutenant J. I. Legare, Engineer, private secretary. 

t " War of the Rebellion," p. 272, Beauregard to Walker. 



REPORT OF MINES TO DESTROY SUMTER. 307 

weakness of the garrison." He informs him, too, that there were 
a number of United States ships ready to start from New York, 
and that it was probable that an attempt to succor Sumter by 
whale-boats would be made at night. Friends at Washington 
also kept the Confederate general in command fully informed of 
any possible movement, and even the prevalent rumors were sent 
to him. On the nth Senator Wigfall, of Texas, informs him by 
telegraph that it was believed that " Anderson will be ordered 
to evacuate Sumter in five days, " and that this "was certainly 
informally agreed upon in Cabinet Saturday night." 

At the earliest moment a reconnoissance was made to the mouth 
of the Stono River, by which reinforcement might enter, and field- 
works to " effectually guard those channels of approach" were 
determined upon. The General was embarrassed with the condi- 
tion of things. His engineer as well as his ordnance officer had 
been taken away from him by the Governor of Georgia, and he was 
left to his own resources. "Their absence," he said, "filled him 
with care and grief; " and he alleged, " that while he found a great 
deal of zeal and energy around him, there was but little profes- 
sional knowledge or experience, and that a great deal in the way 
of organization remained to be accomplished. Should a force 
land at Stono, or in that direction, he had made arrangements to 
meet it. 

Telegrams, before referred to, had now come to the Governor 
of the State, in reference to the evacuation of the fort, when on 
the 14th of March the Confederate Secretary of War informed 
General Beauregard "that the steamers Star of the West, 
Harriet Lane, Crusader, Mohawk, and Empire City were ordered 
to sail from New York last night, said to carry arms, pro- 
visions and men ; destination not known." From his report on 
the 15th, the general in command at Charleston believed that " in 
a very few days," he would be ready at all points." Meantime, 
despatches from Washington to the Confederate War Depart- 
ment had informed the Secretary of the mines laid at Fort Sumter, 
of " a purpose to destroy it and the garrison rather than be taken ; " 
and the Secretary suggests to General Beauregard on the 15th of 
March, that Foster, the engineer, might be a good guarantee if 
left in the fort, and he was directed to ' give but little credit " 
to the rumors of an amicable adjustment, and not to slacken his 
energies for a moment. 



3oS THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

On the 2 1 St the impression that the garrison would be shortly 
removed had become so strong that the Confederate Secretary 
again addresses a communication to General Beauregard, that the 
fort would shortly be abandoned, if there was any reliance to be 
placed upon rumors " semi-official in their character." Before 
this could be permitted, General Beauregard must assure himself 
" perfectly," that there were " no mines laid with trains withm the 
fort;" that he was to inform Major Anderson of his intention to take 
immediate possession, and that he desired to do this upon an 
inventory to be taken by himself and one of Major Anderson's 
officers, properly Foster. If Anderson declined this, he was to 
tell him of the rumors in regard to the mines, and to demand 
assurance of its falsity, and if denied, he must prevent his 
departure. Meantime a remark of Major Anderson that if, when 
attacked, he found that he could not hold possession of the fort 
he would blow it up in preference to permitting his command to 
fall into the hands of the enemy, had been misunderstood and 
misstated in Charleston. Upon the 26th of March two of the 
A. A. C.'s of General Beauregard, Colonel Chisholm and Lieuten- 
ant Ferguson, came down to the fort under a white flag, bearing 
a communication from the General commanding at Charleston 
to Major Anderson. It began, " My dear Major," and was 
intended as a personal communication " to obtain his views first."* 
He stated that he had been informed that Mr. Lamon, the 
authorized agent of the President of the United States, had, after 
seeing Major Anderson, informed Governor Pickens that the 
command was to be transferred in a few days to another post, and 
that he understood that Major Anderson anticipated that a formal 
surrender or capitulation would be required of him. This, he 
informs Major Anderson, as their countries were not at war, 
would not be required of him, unless as the natural result of hos- 
tilities. 

Whenever he was prepared to leave the fort, proper means of 
transportation, including baggage, private and company property, 
would be provided. All that would be required of him, would be 
his word of honor as an officer and a gentleman, that the fort, 
with its armament "and all public property," should remain 



* Beauregard to Anderson, March 26, 1861. " War of the RebeUion," p, 
222; Vol. I, Ser. I. 



NORTHERN PRESS URGE DESTRUCTION OF SUMTER. 309 

without any arrangements for their destruction ; that company 
and side arms might be taken and the flag saluted. 

Major Anderson, in responding to this communication, informed 
General Beauregard that he felt "deeply hurt" at the conditions 
which would be exacted of him, and that if he could leave the fort 
only upon such a pledge he would never, so help him God! '* leave 
this fort alive." He at the same time hoped that General Beaure- 
gard did not mean what his words expressed, and in that case uni- 
ted with him in the wish that they might have the pleasure of 
meeting under more favorable circumstances. A letter was received 
by Major Anderson on the same date from General Beauregard, 
disclaiming any intentions of wounding his feelings; that the 
pledge he referred to was only alluded to on account of the high 
source from which the rumors appeared to come, and that it 
might be considered a sufficient reason by " many officers of high 
standing" for the execution of orders which otherwise they would 
not approve of, and he regretted having referred to the subject. 
The Northern press were urgent upon the subject. 

" Shall Fort Sumter be Destroyed ? If, therefore, Major 
Anderson must abandon it, let him employ the few remaining 
days his provisions will hold out, in undermining inside the entire 
foundations, then let him make his preparations to leave, apply the 
fuse, and at a safe distance watch its being levelled to the ground. 
This would be a gloomy but nevertheless a more worthy ending of 
the sad history than to leave it a stronghold in the possession of a 
foreign foe. If Sumter must be abandoned to the enemy, let it be 
a shapeless mass of ruins." — N. V. Commercial Advertiser. 

It was at this period that a recruiting station was established 
in Baltimore by the authority of the Confederate War Department 
by Senator L. V. Wigfall, who had made the necessary financial 
arrangements with the house of Walters & Co., 68 Exchange Place; 
and he informed General Beauregard that by the time an officer 
could come for them, there would " probably be a hundred recruits 
to examine," and that he desired to send them to General 
Beauregard. 

On the 1 8th, the Confederate War Department directed Gen- 
eral Beauregard to order an officer to Baltimore to superintend 
the shipment of the men, and that he ** must conceal his mission 
except from those in the secret." The officer indicated delayed 
his departure, when Senator Wigfall again telegraphed, March 21, 



3IO 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



that the number of men was increasing and that they could not be 
kept together much longer. The Confederate Secretary of War 
promptly responded by sending an officer directly from Mont- 
gomery, who was to remain in Baltimore for some weeks under the 
orders of Senator Wigfall. On the 23d of March sixty-four recruits 
arrived in Charleston and were sent to Castle Pinckney. 

On the 20th, the limits of the command of General Beaure- 
gard were increased to include the coast line of the State, but his 
first duty was to give his personal attention to the defense of 
Charleston Harbor. Colonel Samuel Cooper, the Adjutant-Gen- 
eral of the United States Army, a native of New York, who up to 
March 7 had acted in that capacity, resigned his commission 
and accepted the position of Adjutant-General of the Confederate 
States and was now in the discharge of the duties of that 
office at Montgomery. The works now steadily approached 
completion, and on the 20th of March the State Engineer report- 
ed the completion of the mortar battery on the beach at Fort 
Johnson, and the progress on the other works, while on the 2 2d, 
in reporting the visit of Captain Fox, and thrt he had reported 
that the supplies of Major Anderson were nearly exhausted, he 
announces that all of his batteries would be finished and armed 
in two or three days. 

Meanwhile, the President at Washington looked with an 
anxiety that he did not conceal to the action of the Virginia Con- 
vention, still in session. 

He believed that if the border States were retained in the 
Union, he might be able to control the action of the Gulf States. 
On the 17th of March a resolution was offered in the Virginia 
Convention, submitting an ordinance resuming the delegated 
powers of the State to a vote of the people in the following May. 
The proposition was rejected by a vote of "ninety to forty-five 
against the resolution," which drew the line distinctly between 
the Union men and the Secessionists in the Convention. But the 
Convention, instead of adjourning, continued its sessions, and 
this the President considered as a "menace" to him. The 
President determined to confer with some pr 'eminent member of 
the Convention, and in accordance with his desire, the Secretary 
of State addressed a communication to Judge Sommers, who was 
an acquaintance of the President and who had served with him in 
Congress, with the request that he should come to Washington, 



REFUTED OFFER OF THE PRESIDENT. 



311 



or, in event of his inability to come, that some representative 
Union man should be sent to confer with him. 

Soon after a messenger,* sent from Washington upon the same 
errand, arrived in Richmond. Colonel J. B. Baldwin was selected 
as the proper representative, and in company with the messenger 
returned to Washington at once, arriving upon the morning of 
the 4th of April. The interview with the President was held upon 
the same day. 

What actually transpired has been made the subject of per- 
sonal controversy between a distinguished citizen of Virginia, to 
whom the character and result of the interview was related by 
the President immediately afterward, and the member of the 
Virginia Convention with whom the interview was held; the 
former asserting that the President had stated to him that he 
made a proposition to the messenger to the effect that, if the 
Virginia Convention would adjourn "sine die" without passing 
the Ordmance of Secession, he would withdraw the troops from 
Fort Sumter; while the latter asserting under oath that the 
early greeting of the President was, that he had come too late, 
and that no pledge, no undertaking, no offer, no promise of any 
sort was made by the President to him at that interview; and that 
in regard to the proposition to withdraw the troops from Sumter 
and Pickens, if the Virginia Convention would adjourn, that he 
made no suggestion and said nothing from which it could be 
inferred. The President repeated, in the presence of Geo. P. Smith 
and the members of the Committee, that he most positively assured 
Mr. Baldwin that if the Virginia Convention would adjourn with- 
out passing an Ordinance of Secession, he would abandon Fort 
Sumter, and in the quaint and forcible language attributed to and 
so characteristic of him, that he ''would give a fort for a State " 
any time. The rejection of such a proposition at the time was con- 
sidered as the assumption of a very serious responsibility upon the 
part of the members, and as in the interest of the minority in the 
Convention, who desired to separate the State from the Union. 

As no witnesses were present at the time of the interview 
between the President and the member of the Virginia Convention 
the question became one of personal veracity. Circumstances of 
a corroborative nature were not wanting to confirm the statements 



* Allan B. Magruder 



312 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



of Mr. Botts, in the testimony of persons " to whom the Presi- 
dent had made a similar statement, as well as in that of others 
who heard the member say that such a proposition was made to 
him in the interview by the President." No report of such a 
proposition was made to the Convention, although the member 
upon his return reported to his friends that he had urged upon 
the President to withdraw the forces from Sumter and Pickens in 
the interest of peace. The Union men of the Convention were 
not happy in their selection of a representative. Upon his return 
to Richmond after the interview with Mr. Lincoln, although he 
cast his vote against the secession of the State, April 17, he 
subsequently signed the Ordinance and almost at once took 
office under the Confederacy, and was elected to the Confederate 
Congress, where he became the Chairman of the Military Commit- 
tee. Upon the fall of Sumter and the appearance of the President's 
proclamation, in reply to an inquiry from a Northern politician 
as to " what will the Union men of Virginia do now," he replied, 
at once, " There are now no Union men in Virginia;" those who 
were such would now fight " in defense of their liberties." 

But in order to ascertain definitely the policy of the Presi- 
dent, a committee of prominent members was sent by the conven- 
tion, after the return of the messengers, to Washington. 

They reached Washington on the morning of the day that 
Fort Sumter was fired upon. The President received them, and 
on the 14th read to them a written answer to the Resolution of 
the Convention. His declarations were " distinctly pacific, and 
he expressly disclaimed all purpose of war." The Secretary of 
State and the Attorney-General also gave similar assurances. 
They returned upon the following day, carrying with them upon 
the " same train " the proclamation of the President calling for 
75,000 men. 

On the 25th a special distribution of the ordnance was 
ordered by the commanding general to the batteries around the 
fort, and the shells specified and distributed to their appropriate 
service. 

The delay m the actual removal of the garrison, and the 
absence of any official action in regard to it, soon began to excite 
suspicion, and on the 26th the Governor advised General Beau- 
regard that Anderson should now say whether Colonel Lamoii 
was authorized to arrange rnatters, and if he would not so state, 



MESSENGERS TO SUMTER FORBIDDEN. 



313 



then he, the Governor, would "begin to doubt everything." The 
visits of the messengers from Washington to Fort Sumter were not 
satisfactory to the Government at Montgomery, who, on the 29th 
of March, directed the general commanding to allow no further 
communications of that character, unless the written instructions 
borne by such messengers should be inspected and assurances 
given that there were no verbal instructions existing incompatible 
with them. 

The month of March thus closed. But little dependence was 
placed upon the rumors of withdrawal of the garrison, and both 
sides prepared for a struggle which seemed to be unavoidable. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Confederate Congress cuthorizes appointment of three Commissioners to 
Washington— Messrs. Crawford, Roman and Forsyth selected — Their 
instructions— Commissioner Crawford arrives in Washington—" Fully 
satisfied " that to approach Mr. Buchanan would be disadvantageous — 
Commissioner reports to the Confederate Secretary of State— Senator W. 
H. Seward to be the new Secretary of State —His peaceful policy — Inau- 
guration of Mr. Lincoln — Commissioner reports to his Government — Com- 
missioner Forsyth arrives— Report of the two Commissioners — Senator R. 
M. T. Hunter — Propositions tor delay made to Commissioner — Authorities 
at Montgomery consider a delay a doubtful policy — Evacuation of Sumter 
to be insisted upon— Secretary of State declines to receive the Commis- 
sioners — Associate Justice Campbell offers to mediate — Associate Justice 
Nelson also interests himseif— Question of the evacuation of Sumter — 
Associate Justice Campbell's memoranda— Further instructions from 
Montgomery — Warlike armaments — Volunteers called out at Charleston — 
Memorandumof Secretary of State— Its effect— The Commissioners leave 
Washington — Justice Campbell to Secretary of State — Writes to the Presi- 
dent — Sumter fired upon. 

One of the earliest acts of the provisional Congress was the 
passage of a resolution on the 15th of February, 1861, authorizing 
the appointment by the President-elect of three Commissioners for 
the purpose of negotiating friendly relations between the Govern- 
ment of the United States and the "Confederate States of 
America," for the settlement of "all questions of disagreement 
between the two Governments." Messrs. Martin J. Crawford, 
A. B. Roman and John Forsyth were the persons selected. 
Instructions for their guidance were forwarded to them on the 
27th of February, from the "Department of State" at Mont- 
gomery. The leading object of their mission was to open negotia- 
tions as speedily as possible with the Government of the United 
States, with a view to the recognition of the independence of the 
Confederacy, and to conclude treaties of amity and good-will 
" between the two nations." They were, if possible, to obtain a 
personal interview with the President, and intimate to him the 
object of their mission. If the President should decline to 
receive them ofificially, they were to accept an unofficial mterview, 



INSTRUCTIONS TO CONFED. COMMISSIONERS. 3 I 5 

if agreeable to him, and were to inform him verbally of the 
duties with which they had been charged by the President of the 
Confederate States. 

They were to assure every one with whom they might be 
brought into official relation, that it was the earnest wish of the 
President of the Confederate States " to establish peaceful and 
friendly relations with the United States," and to settle all ques- 
tions which had arisen by virtue of their new relations amicably. 
That they were determined to maintain their rights and mdepen- 
dence at all hazards, and that nothing would induce them to 
assume a hostile attitude towards the United States but a 
refusal to acknowledge the independence of the Confederate 
States, accompanied by an aggressive assertion and exercise of 
the powers of supreme Government, which belonged to the 
Federal authority, under the old compact, but which had now 
** ceased to exist." 

The policy of the Government of the United States in recog- 
nizing de facto governments was urged, and the right of a people 
to change at will their political institutions; and under it there 
could be no hesitation in " recognizing the independence of the 
Confederate States." And the action of President Buchanan 
was instanced, who, when Secretary of State at the time of the 
overthrow of the monarchy in France under Louis Phillippe in 
1848-49, congratulated the minister on the promptness with 
which he had recognized the new Government, and remarked in 
his despatch that, " It is sufficient for us to know that a Govern- 
ment exists capable of maintaining itself, and then its recogni- 
tion by the United States inevitably follows." The Commissioners 
were to urge that the '' Confederate States form an independent 
nation, both dc facto and de jure. They possess a Government 
perfect in all its branches, and richly endowed with the means of 
maintaining itself in every possible contingency." 

If, however, the President should propose to refer the matter 
to the Senate or to Congress, when it should meet, no opposition 
was to be made, provided that they received from the President 
sufficient assurance that the existing status should be maintamed 
and that the Government of the United States should make no 
attempt, under any pretext " to exercise any jurisdiction, whether 
civil or military, within the limits of the Confederacy." 

To secure this was of the last importance, and the Commission- 



3i6 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



ers were instructed to make use of every means in their power to dis- 
cover, in case a delay was proposed by the United States, whether 
the object was not to cover sinister designs and complete a plan 
of military or naval attack. Information as to the action and 
desio-ns of the authorities in Washington, when obtained, was to 
be communicated by the most confidential agencies. Social rela- 
tions with the representatives of foreign Governments were to be 
established, and such information obtained as might be useful to 
the Confederate Government. 

Armed with these instructions, the Commissioners proceeded to 
Washington, one of them, Mr. M. J. Crawford, arriving upon the 
3d of March. He lost no time in coming to his conclusions, and 
upon the same day reported to the Secretary of State of the Con- 
federacy that he had availed himself of all the means of informa- 
tion at his command, to learn the disposition of the United States 
Government towards the Government of the Confederate States. 
He had become " fully satisfied that it would not be wise to 
approach Mr. Buchanan with any hope of his doing anything 
which would result advantageously to our Government."* 

That Mr. Buchanan had but a short time before expressed 
himself as prepared to receive Commissioners "purporting" to 
come from the Confederate States Government, and to submit their 
"matters" to Congress, but that he had since changed his mind, 
or really lost the remembrance of what he had said, and denied 
having made such statement, or having ever entertained such pur- 
pose; that he had again recalled the matter, and renewed his 
intention to submit it to Congress, but that he ♦' must first consult 
his Cabinet." " His fears for his personal safety, the apprehen- 
sions for the security to his property, together with the cares of 
State and his advanced age, render him wholly disqualified for 
his present position." " He is as incapable now of purpose," wrote 
the Commissioner, "as a child," and while he (the Commissioner) 
might secure the promise of the President to receive him as a 
Commissioner, his constitutional advisers " would control him the 
moment he fell into their hands." He would not attempt to open 
negotiation with the outgoing administration. The future must 
develop the power of the peace or war element which would 



* Correspondence of Commissioner Crawford with Confederate Secretary 
of State, March, 1861. 



REPORT OF COMMISSIONER CRA WFORD. 3 I 7 

control the incoming President, and that Governor Chase and Mr. 
Montgomery Blair would compose the element which would be for 
coercion. 

The Commissioner reported also the presence of Mr. John 
Bell, of Tennessee, and his constant communication with the 
President-elect, that he had been urgent in his entreaties with Mr. 
Lincoln not to disturb the Confederate States. He had assured 
him that any attempt to collect the revenue, or to interfere with 
its Government, would be the signal for the secession of every 
border State. " He advises an indefinite truce," the withdrawal 
of the Government troops, except a nominal guard, from the forts, 
and, in order to satisfy the war party of the North, that the flag 
should be left flying, and that in the meantime the Confederate 
States were to be left alone to do as they might choose, " prepare 
for war, strengthen defenses, in short do whatever may seem good 
to them ; " that the pursuance of this course was to result in 
favor of the United States, on account of the dissatisfaction 
which would arise from increased taxation upon the people of the 
Confederacy, which would lead to a permanent reconstruction; 
that these suggestions were favorably received and considered by 
a portion of the new administration, but that they would not be 
acted upon, in the opinion of the Commissioners, if the border 
States remained in the Union without them; and that such coer- 
cive measures as might be safely adopted without imperilling the 
loss of Virginia would certainly be used. 

The Commissioner concluded by stating, that " when the mob 
which was the controlling power at present upon the course and 
policy of the new President should have dispersed " and Congress 
adjourned, he hoped for more favorable results from his mission. 
Meantime, it had become recognized as a fact, that the 
Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Senator from New York, was to be called 
to the new Cabinet as Secretary of State. On the 28th of 
December he had informed the President-elect, that " after due 
reflection and with much self distrust," he felt it to be his duty 
to accept the appointment of Secretary of State, if nominated, 
and confirmed by the Senate. He was then in his seat as Senator 
from the State of New York, the latest of the many honors 
lavished upon him by his State. His views and desires for a 
peaceful settlement of the troubles were well known; and his 
declared intention to make any consistent sacrifice for its attain- 



3 I 8 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

merit soon drew to him many from both sections who entertained 
similar views, either from policy or design. His matured polit- 
ical experience and a vision at times almost prophetic* enabled 
him to exert an influence that was recognized and felt as well in 
the South as in the North, and which induced the adoption, in the 
new Government, of a peaceful intent, not as a subterfuge, but as 
a distinct policy of administration, until forced by the commence- 
ment of active hostilities by the South to abandon it. 

His views upon every variety of political and national interest 
were so sought, and his opinions so desired, and his personal 
intimacy and influence with the President-elect so recognized, 
that he seemed, like Hamilton in the Cabinet of Washington, to 
be considered as the Premier of the new administration, and the 
first minister of the Cabinet of Mr. Lincoln; and however foreign 
to our governmental usage such an estimate might be, some 
of the duties he was called upon to perform would seern naturally 
to justify such opinion. His public career had placed him among 
the leaders of the great party that had now triumphed at the polls, 
and he was the foremost apostle of Republican doctrine. Men's 
minds had confidently looked to him as their chosen standard 
bearer, and his failure to receive it was the occasion of wide- 
spread disappointment. 

The President-elect had early invited him to the chief place 
among his counsellors, with the approbation of the country. His 
most formidable rival, he became his most devoted friend, and 
upon him, through the dark days of war, his strong arm rested 
mainly for support. As early as December i, amid the vast 
work crowding upon him, Mr. Seward had continued a corre- 



* In March, 1850, in a remarkable speech in the Senate of the United States, 
upon the admission of Cal fornia, he said: "Then the projectors of the new 
Republic of the South will meet the question — and they rnay well prepare now 
to answer it — What is all this for? What intolerable wrong, what unfraternal 
injustice, has rendered these calamities unavoidable? What gain will this un- 
natural revolution bring to us ? The answer will be : All this is done to secure 
the institution of African slavery ! When that answer shall be given, it will ap- 
pear that the question of dissolving the Union is a complex question ; that it em- 
braces the fearful issue whether the Union shall stand, and slavery, under the 
steady, peaceful action of moral, social and political causes, be removed by grad- 
ual, voluntary effort, and with compensation ; or whether the Union shall be dis- 
solved, and civil war ensue, bringing on violent but complete emoncipaticn. 
We are now arrived at that stage of our national progress when that crisis 
can be foreseen —when we must loresee it. ' ' 



fV. H. SE WARD SEC RE TAR Y OF STA TE. 3 I 9 

spondence with his family, and from this valued source we have 
been permitted to draw. With the President-elect, also, he was 
in constant correspondence as the momentous events of that 
period came thronging upon the country. " The ultra Southern 
men mean to break up the Union," he wrote, '' not really for the 
grievances of which they complain, but from cherished disloyalty 
and ambition. The President and all Union men are alarmed 
and despondent; the Republicans who come here are ignorant of 
the real designs or danger." 

His laconic criticism upon President Buchanan's message of 
December 3 was: " It shows conclusively that it is the duty of the 
President to execute the laws unless somebody opposes him, and 
that no State has a right to go out of the Union unless she wants to!" 
On the loth, he wrote that the debates in the Senate were 
"hasty, feeble, inconclusive and unsatisfactory." Upon the ist 
of April, in "Some Thoughts for the President's Consideration," 
he urged that his views were singular, but his system was built on 
this idea, as a ruling one, namely: ''That we must change the 
question before the public from one upon slavery, or about slavery, 
for a question upon Union or Disunion, from one of party to one of 
patriotism or Union. The occupation or evacuation of Fort 
Sumter, although not in fact a slavery or a party question, is so re- 
garded. Witness the temper manifested by the Republicans in the 
free States, and even by Union men in the South. I would there- 
fore terminate it, as a safe means for changing the issue. I deem 
it fortunate that the last administration created the necessity. For 
the rest, I would simultaneously defend and reinforce all the forts 
in the Gulf, and have the navy recalled from foreign stations for 

a blockade."* 

Prominent Southern men had sought him to urge the con- 
tinuance of this peaceful policy, and one of them. Senator Gwynn, of 
California, had placed himself in communication with the authori- 
ties at Montgomery, acting as an intermediary between them and 
Mr. Seward, in the interest of a peaceful settlement of the diffi- 
culties until the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln. On the day pre- 
ceding the inauguration, a list of the members of the Cabinet was 
published in the press of Washington. The name of the Hon. 
Salmon P. Chase as Secretary of the Treasury, had been 



■Mr. Seward to the President, April i, 1861. 



320 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

mentioned, and had encountered determined opposition from that 
element now open and earnest in the effort to bring about a peace- 
ful settlement. Mr. Chase was believed to be in favor of "a 
vigorous policy," and it was feared that his entrance into the 
Cabinet would greatly retard, if not wholly prevent, a peaceful 
solution, if it did not directly promote a war policy. When it was 
known that he had been chosen to fill the office. Senator Gwynn 
prepared a telegram to be sent to Montgomery, stating the fact of 
Mr. Chase's appointment, that the war policy was in the ascendant, 
and advising that the South should look out for themselves. This 
telegram was sent, in accordance with the understanding that pre- 
vailed, to Mr. Seward by the hands of Mr. Samuel Ward, of New 
York, who had been active in his patriotic efforts during the winter. 
After reading the telegram, Mr. Seward took his pen, and erasing 
all over the signature, wrote to the effect that the outlook was 
peaceable and that matters had never before looked so encouraging; 
and this altered telegram was so despatched with the original signa- 
ture by Mr. Ward to Mr. Davis at Montgomery.* 

The new President was inaugurated in Washington on the 4th 
of March. He had called to his counsels men, many of whom 
had become conspicuous in the anti-slavery movement that had 
so long agitated the country. From the composition of the 
Cabinet, the policy it was likely to pursue was the subject of ear- 
nest speculation and anxiety. But the Commissioner had early 
come to a conclusion, and on the 6th reported to his Government 
"that the selections made of the advisers of the President would 
prove beneficial to the Confederate States," as it was "the deter- 
mined purpose of the Secretaries of State and War to accept and 
maintain a peace policy;" that the President was not aware of 
the condition of the country, and that the Secretaries named were 
to open the difficulties and dangers to him on that day (the 6th of 
March). 

The Commissioner, therefore, felt it to be his duty, under 
the instructions of his Department, as well as in accordance 
with his own judgment "to adopt and support Mr. Seward's 
policy, " provided that the present status was to be rigidly main- 
tained; that his own reasons and those of Mr. Seward were 
as wide apart as the poles; Mr. Seward believing that peace 



* Senator Gwynn to author. 



REPOR T OF CONFEDERA TE COMMISSIONER. 3 2 I 

would bring about a reconstruction of the Union, while the 
Commissioner felt confident that it would build up and cement 
the Confederacy and put it " beyond the reach of either his arms 
or his diplomacy." 

The construction which Mr. Seward "attempts "to put upon 
the inaugural address of the President was, that it only followed 
the language of every President from Washington down, as to 
the execution of the laws, and that it was necessary to prevent 
utter ruin to the party and the administration itself. That the 
statement by the President, that he would " hold, occupy and pos- 
sess the property and places belonging to the Government" was 
to be considered in connection with the qualification wherein the 
President deemed it to be his simple duty, and that he would per- 
form it unless the American people should withhold the requisite 
means, or authoritatively direct the contrary. In submitting these 
views, the Commissioner informed his Government, " that whilst 
it was wise and proper to hear and note every word coming from 
a source so high in this Government," the main fact should never 
be lost sight of; that the policy of the United States Government 
was first to demoralize the Government of the Confederate States in 
the border States, then in the Confederate States themselves; and 
that when it was assured of support by a party in those States, 
** the opportune moment for coercion " would have come, should 
the Confederate States not submit to the national jurisdiction. 
It was not believed that Congress would furnish the means required 
by General Scott's estimate of 250,000 men to hold, occupy and 
possess the property of the United States, and upon this the " first 
minister" had based his hopes of peace for some time to come. 
An arrangement had been made with the Secretary of State by 
which the Commissioner was to be informed the afternoon of the 
day upon which he wrote " when and in what manner " the sub- 
ject of his mission should be submitted to the consideration of the 
President and his Cabinet. The information contained in a 
recent letter of Major Anderson, reporting the insufficiency of 
his supplies and his inability, from a want of fuel, to hold out 
beyond the ist of April, had become known to the Commissioner, 
who, in reporting it to his Government, said that the question of 
allowing or refusing this assistance to Major Anderson must soon 
be a question with the Government of the Confederate States, 
but that in the meantime the Commissioner should feel it to be 



322 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



his duty to use the situation of Major Anderson as a means of 
recognition, and for a pledge not to reinforce the forts, or to take 
any hostile steps against the Confederate Government, and that 
if the United States should consent, he should have no hesitation 
in stating that the Confederate Government would withhold noth- 
ing necessary for their personal comfort from Major Anderson 
and his command while negotiations were pending. 

Meantime, Mr. John Forsyth, one of the Commissioners ap- 
pointed by the Confederate Government, had arrived in Washington, 
and on the 8th of March communicated with his Government. He 
stated the belief that there was a party in the Cabinet favorable 
to pacific measures, and that the Secretary of State, Mr, Seward, 
was the head of that party, and that in order to cultivate unofficial 
relations with them, the Commissioners had availed themselves 
of the services of a late distinguished Senator of the United States 
(R. M. T. Hunter) to establish an understanding with the Secre- 
tary of State, who was urgent for delay. The tenor of the 
language used by the Secretary to the Senator was thus reported 
by the Commissioner: " I have built up the Republican party, I have 
brought it to triumph, but its advent to power is accompanied by 
great difficulties and perils. I must save the party, and save the 
Government in its hands. To do this, war must be averted, 
the negro question must be dropped, the irrepressible conflict 
ignored, and a Union party to embrace the border slave States 
inaugurated. I have already whipped Mason and Hunter in their 
own State. I must crush out Davis, Toombs, and their colleagues 
in sedition in their respective States. Saving the border States to 
the Union by moderation and justice, the people of the cotton 
States, unwillingly led into secession, will rebel against their lead- 
ers, and reconstruction will follow."* 

In this path the Committee deemed that they could travel 
with the Secretary of State up to a certain point, that of fixing the 
peace policy of the Government. At that point a divergence 
would take place; and it was deemed unimportant, whatever might 
be the subsequent hopes or plans of the Secretary. It was well, the 
Commissioners thought, that he should indulge in dreams which 
they knew could not be realized. The Secretary had urged delay, 



* Commissioners Forsyth and Crawford to Confederate Secretary of State, 
March 8, i86i. 



COMMISSIONERS CONSENT TO DELAY. 323 

and this became at once a question for discussion. While the real 
desire of both the Confederate authorities, as well as the Com- 
missioners, was for delay, it was deemed the more prudent policy 
that this should not appear, and while yielding with apparent re- 
luctance in their preference for peace and in the interests of 
humanity, they stipulated for what was of the last importance to 
them, and that was, that "the military status should be main- 
tained, and no advantage taken of the delay." 

The Secretary of State had urged, in his conversation with 
Senator Hunter, that the administration was in the most unfavor- 
able position for action on questions so important, and if pressed 
for a reply to the demand of the Commissioners now, he could not 
answer for the result. To this, Senator Hunter, while acknowl- 
edging its force, maintained that unless the assurances required 
were given, the issue would be at once precipitated upon the admin- 
istration, and it would be forced to define its policy. A memoran- 
dum was accordingly prepared by the Commissioners, defining the 
terms upon which they "would consent to and stipulate for a 
brief respite." In this, they agreed to postpone the consideration of 
the subject of their mission for a period not exceeding twenty days, 
provided that a positive and uneijuivocal pledge, binding in 
honor, and fully justifying the Commissioners in accepting it, that 
the present military status should be preserved in every respect, 
that there should be no reinforcements of the forts now in the 
possession of the United States, nor any attack upon those in 
possession of the Confederacy. At the same time, the Commis- 
sioners believed that the Government had not made up its 
mind what course to pursue, that they were "greatly con- 
cerned " at their presence, and dreaded to hear from them ; that 
the unpleasant communication they had in store for the adminis- 
tration had been freely canvassed on the streets and in the press, 
and that their arrest and imprisonment on the charge of treason 
had been spoken of. They wrote that the consent to a delay 
upon their part was induced chiefly by the consideration that 
the signing of such an agreement as the memorandum con- 
tained would be a virtual recognition of them, as the represen- 
tatives of a power entitled to be treated with by the General 
Government; and again, the instructions under which they were 
acting contemplated delay and authorized it, so far as the objects 
of their mission were to be obtained by it. While the author- 



324 "^HE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

ities at Montgomery approved the course pursued by the Com- 
missioners, it was thought that to accord the delay of twenty 
days was of extremely doubtful policy, and not unlikely to lead to 
embarrassing complications. It was however acquiesced in, with 
the understanding that the proviso in regard to the military status 
should be established beyond doubt, and "of the most positive, 
explicit and binding character;" and to such a point was this car- 
ried, that the Commissioners were informed by their Government 
that they should receive assurances that a fleet of steamers, said 
to be then coaling and preparing for sea at the Brooklyn Navy 
Yard, should not only not make any hostile movement during the 
period of the proposed delay, but that they were not to be sent 
to any point adjacent to the southern borders, whence they might 
be employed after the expiration of the term of the delay. 

The evacuation of Fort Sumter was to be insisted upon as a 
sine qua non, and no proposition to refer the subject matter of 
their mission to the United States Senate or to Congress was to 
be agreed to by them, unless some definite arrangement for the 
evacuation of the strong places then held by the United States 
within the limits of the Confederacy should be made. During the 
period of delay there was no objection to the garrison of Fort 
Sumter receiving supplies, at short intervals and in limited quan- 
tities, this to be regulated by the proper Confederate authorities 
at Charleston. 

The memorandum as prepared by the Commissioners was 
presented to the Secretary of State by Senator R. M. T. Hunter, 
of Virginia, who had consented to see the Secretary for them 
and learn if he would consent to -an informal interview. 

When Senator Hunter presented himself to the Secretary of 
State, he found him at first " perceptibly embarrassed and 
uneasy." He informed Senator Hunter that before he could 
consent to an interview, he must see the President. He asked, 
too, that the request be put in writing, in order that he might 
submit it to the President. This was declined by Senator 
Hunter, who thought it inexpedient, but assented that the Secre- 
tary should state to the President the fact of his visit, and also its 
object and character. Upon the following day (March 12) the 
Senator returned to the Commissioners with a note addressed to 
himself, in which the Secretary of State said, " It will not be in my 
power to receive the gentlemen of whom we conversed yesterday." 



THEIR ACTION APPRO VED A T MONTGOMER Y. 325 

The receipt of this paper was considered by the Commis- 
sioners as decisive of their course, and they at once prepared a 
formal note informing the State Department of their presence in 
Washington, and of the object of their mission, and asking an 
official interview at an early day. The Secretary of State had 
already determined not to recognize the Commissioners in any 
official capacity, nor to hold personal communication with them. 

On the 13th, the note was formally delivered to the Assistant 
Secretary at the State Department, by Colonel J. A. Pickett, of 
Washington, who had consented to act as the Secretary of the 
Commission. The action of the Commissioners was wholly 
approved and commended by their Government at Montgomery, 
who thought that they had acted with '' commendable promptness 
and becoming dignity," and had shown that they were not 
suppliants for the grace and favor of the United States Govern- 
ment, but that they were " the envoys of a powerful Confedera- 
tion of sovereignties," "instructed to demand their rights" and 
to establish relations of "amity and good neighborhood."* The 
Commissioners now awaited a response to their note, which would 
determine their course. The Secretary of State had determined 
not to reply in letter form to the formal note of the Commis- 
sioners, as such might reasonably be regarded as a recognition of 
their official character. In place of it he decided to prepare a 
" memorandum " for the files of his Department, in order to 
avoid the appearance of such recognition, which memorandum 
should define the position of the Government, and of which a 
copy was to be furnished, if called for. 

But meantime other and powerful influences were at work. 
It was now the 15th of March, and the Supreme Court of the 
United States had ended its session. The members were about 
to separate, when Associate Justice John A. Campbell announced 
his determination to remain in Washington, and to use his personal 
influence to bring about a peaceful solution of the difficulties now 
threatening the peace of the country. Associate Justice Nelson 
had during the session of the court been engaged in a careful 
study of the laws bearing upon the war powers of the President 
and of Congress. He had consulted the Chief-Justice of the 
United States upon the questions involved, and had come to the 

* Confederate Secretary of State to the Commissioners, March 20, 1861. 



326 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

conclusion that no coercion could be successfully effected by the 
Executive "without very serious violation of Constitution and 
Statute," and in this opinion Associate Justice Campbell had, 
after a similar examination, agreed.* 

He was convinced " that an inflexible adherence to a policy 
of moderation and of peace would inevitably lead to the restora- 
tion of the Union in all of its integrity; that there was an 
imperative obligation upon the part of the Government to dis- 
play moderation and an indulgent "spirit of endurance" to pre- 
vent the spread of secession and "recompose the Union." 

Impressed with the importance of his conclusions, Associate 
Justice Nelson had, upon the same day (March 15), in a visit to 
the Secretaries of State and Treasury, as well as to the Attorney- 
General, laid before these officials the result of his research upon 
the subject, and the conclusions to which he had come. He was 
listened to with respect and attention by these officers, and with 
great cordiality by the Secretary of State, who expressed himself 
gratified at finding " so many impediments to the disturbances of 
peace, and only wished there had been more; f that his policy 
was for peace, and that he would spare no effort to maintain it. 
A subject which had interested him especially was, in regard to 
the execution of the laws relating to " Navigation, Commerce and 
Revenue" without additional legislation, in consequence of 
secession. Congress having adjourned without action upon the 
subject. The Secretary was of opinion that such execution would 
be impossible, " except by the use of military force and the 
dangers of civil war," The attention of Justice Nelson had been 
called to a resolution introduced by a Member of Congress from 
New York, in regard to the coasting trade; the question involved 
being the validity of clearances made by State officials after 
secession, while the coasting trade was protected and carried on. 
The subject had attracted the attention of Justice Campbell, who 
in conference with Justice Nelson, was of thi opinion that this 
could not go on without involving the country with the South as 
well as abroad. It was then that, in the consideration of the 
subject, Justice Campbell sought the opinion of Judge Black, 
formerly the Secretary of State. He addressed to him an inquiry 



* Reply of Associate Justice Campbell to Southern Historical Society, New 
Orleans, December 20, 1873. 

t Associate Justice Campbell to Southern Historical Society, New Orleans. 



JUSTICES NELSON AND CAMPBELL INTERVENE. 327 

as to the policy of the Government in respect to the cotton trade 
of the South after secession. To this Judge Black responded, 
that it could not be officially acknowledged, that the United 
States could not recognize clearances made by State officials, or 
any payment of duties, unless made by the proper Federal offi- 
cers; but he at the same time stated confidentially^ and as his 
private opinion, that the general principle of public law was 
rather against the right to punish a person for doing what the local 
authorities who are in possession of the port and custom-house 
compel him to do. They agreed to examine separately, everything 
connected with the subject, as well as the power of the President and 
Congress to take any action in regard to the Confederate States. * 
At this interview, the Secretary informed Justice Nelson of 
the demand for recognition just made by the Confederate Com- 
missioners, and of the embarrassment it caused him, as its refusal 
would produce irritation and excitement in both sections adverse 
to a peaceful adjustment. It was then that the suggestion 
was made by Justice Nelson, that Justice Campbell might be of 
service, when, accidentally meeting him after the interview, the 
two retired to consult as to the proper course to be pursued. After 
a full discussion, the conclusion was reached that the country 
would be better satisfied, and the counsels of p>eace be promoted, 
by the reception of the Commissioners, and obtaining for them a 
full exposition of their demands, and that this could be done with- 
out any official recognition of them or of their Government. They 
determined to recommend to the Secretary of State to reply to 
the letter of the Commissioners, and announce to them the earnest 
desire of the Government for conciliation and peace, and a 
friendly adjustment, and that every effort would be made with 
this view, and every '' forbearance" exercised, before resorting to 
extreme measures, and that such a course would immediately 
influence both the border States as well as those Southern States 
that had not seceded. When this counsel was laid before the 
Secretary of State he was " much impressed " if not " convinced" 
by it. He declined, however, to act in accordance with the sug- 
gestion made, asserting that the Cabinet would not acquiesce, and 
expressing the opinion that the Commissioners would not have been 
sent had the true condition of things been known at Montgomery. 



* Letter of Judge Black in author's possession. 



32! 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVH WAR. 



Mr. Seward's reply is thus described by Justice Campbell in 
the papers submitted by him to the Southern Historical Society, 
December 20, 1873. 

Rising and making a forcible gesture he said: " I wish I could 
do it. See Montgomery Blair, see Mr. Bates, see Mr. Lincoln 
himself; I wish you would: they are all Southern men — convince 
them — no, there is not a member of the Cabinet who would con- 
sent to it. If Jefferson Davis had known the state of things here 
he would not have sent those Commissioners; the evacuation of 
Sumter is as much as the administration can bear." 

A letter from Mr. Thurlow Weed was then read by the Secre- 
tary, to the effect that the surrender of Sumter would be damag- 
ing to the administration, and that he was confident that he could 
have made a better arrangement with the Commissioners; that 
Anderson, with the consent of the Commissioners, might have 
been allowed to remain in the fort and to purchase his supplies in 
Charleston. 

The proposition to evacuate Sumter had not before this been 
made known to Associate Justice Campbell, who agreed with the 
Secretary of State that it was a sufficient burden upon the admin- 
istration to deal with alone, and who then proposed to see the 
Commissioners, and to write to Mr. Davis at Montgomery.* Upon 
this he was authorized by the Secretary to inform Mr. Davis that 
before a letter could reach him he would be informed by tele- 
gram that the order for the evacuation of the fort would have 
been issued, f 

As the administration were satisfied with the condition of 
things at Fort Pickens and the forts in the Gulf of Mexico, no 
change in reference to them was contemplated. A delay of three, 
and subsequently five, days was agreed upon, as more than ample 
to communicate with Montgomery, when after listening again to 



* Justice Campbell's manuscript. * ' Facts of History. ' ' 
t When Justice Campbell at this interview had informed the Secretary that 
he would write to Mr. Davis, he continued, " And what shall I say to him upon 
the subject of Fort Sumter?" "You may say to him, " said the Secretary, " that 
before that letter reaches him — how far is it to Montgomery ?" "Threedays," 
repUed Justice Campbell. "You may say to him that before that letter reaches 
him, the telegraph will have inform d him that Sumter will have been evacu- 
ated." "And what shall I say as to the forts in the Gulf of Mexico?" He 
replied, "We contemplate no action as to them; we are satisfied as to the 
position of things there. ' ' 



JUSTICE CAMPBELL AND THE COMMISSIONER. 3 29 

the renewed assurances of the Secretary in behalf of peace, Justice 
Campbell at once sought the Southern Commissioners, and later 
upon the same morning held his first intei-view with Mr. Martin 
J. Crawford, one of the three that had been sent to Washington. 
He found him ostensibly impatient of delay, and disinclined to any 
discussion of the subject. He was full of the brilliant prospect 
in store for his section in the future, and urged that they were 
destined to form a great and prosperous nation. A reasonable 
delay in demanding a response to the note of the Commissioner 
was urged by Justice Campbell, who at the same time expressed 
the opinion that if a response was now pressed, a civil but firm 
rejection would follow. He felt confident that Sumter would be 
evacuated m the next five days, and that the effect of a '* measure 
imposing vast responsibility upon the administration" should be 
awaited, while at the same time he felt confident that no measure 
changing the existing status was contemplated ; and he frankly 
informed the Commissioner that the opinion at Washington was 
that "the secession movements were short-lived and would wither 
under sunshine." To this the Commissioner replied that he was 
willing to take all the risks of sunshine, but if they could be 
assured of the peaceful purposes of the United States Govern- 
ment, he had no doubt that the time would be allowed; but that 
the evacuation of Sumter was imperative, and the military status 
must remain unchanged. 

He required to be informed of the authority for the assertion 
in regard to Fort Sumter. This Justice Campbell declined to give, 
and informed the Commissioner that no inference was to be made 
that he (Justice Campbell) was "acting under any agency," and 
that he was alone responsible. 

Mr. Crawford at once said: "You come from Seward; those 
are his views?" "I declined to give him any name — and told 
him that he was not authorized to infer that I was acting under 
any agency; that I was responsible to him for what I told him, 
and that no other person was. I informed him that Justice Nelson 
was aware of all that I was, and would agree that I was justified 
in saying to him what I did."* 

After some discussion, the Commissioner was satisfied with 
the assurances given him, and, influenced largely by the near 



* "Facts of History." Justice Campbell's manuscript, in author's possession. 



330 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



prospect of the evacuation of Fort Sumter, he consented to the 
temporary delay, as his action would also be in the interest of 
peace. He required, however, that the information given to him 
should be in writing, and its accuracy endorsed by Justice Camp- 
bell personally. The following memorandum, certifying the 
opinions given, was drawn up by Justice Campbell, and having 
received the approval of Justice Nelson, and its contents having 
been communicated to the Secretary of State, was handed to the 
Commissioner, who at once advised the authorities at Mont- 
gomery. 

Copy "A."* 

"Notes of Justice J. A. Campbell. 

"No. I. 

*< I feel perfect confidence in the fact that Fort Sumter will be 
evacuated in the next five days, and that this is felt to be a meas- 
ure imposing vast responsibility upon the administration. 

" I feel perfect confidence that no measure changing the 
existing status of things prejudicially to the Southern Confederate 
States is at present contemplated. 

" I feel entire confidence that any immediate demand for an 
answer to the communication of the Commissioners will be pro- 
ductive of evil and not of good. I do not believe that it should 
be pressed. 

" I earnestly ask for a delay until the effect of the evacuation 
of Fort Sumter can be ascertained — or at least for a few days, 
say ten days. 

(Signed) " J. A. C. 

" 15th of March, 1861." 

Meantime the five days specified had passed, and Fort Sumter 
had not been evacuated. Upon the expiration of the fifth day, a 
telegram was sent by the Commissioners to the commanding 
Confederate general at Charleston, upon the request of Justice 
Campbell, as to what had been done looking to the evacuation of 
Fort Sumter. The immediate reply of that officer was, that there 
were no indications of any change at Fort Sumter, and that work 
was then going on upon its defenses. This reply was at once 
placed in the hands of Justice Campbell, who, in company with 
Justice Nelson, again sought the Secretary of State. After an 
assurance upon his part that all was right, an arrangement for 
an interview upon the following day was made, when Justice Camp- 



* Copy from the original paper in the Treasury Department, Washington, 
Jane 10, 1873 (^^^ Pickett purchase). 



JUSTICE CAMPBELU S ''MEMORANDUM:' 331 

bell again sought the Commissioners and left with them the fol- 
lowing paper. 

"Copy B. 

"Notes of Justice Campbell. 

"No. 2. 

" My confidence in the two facts stated in my note of the 15th, 

to wit: that Fort Sumter is to be evacuated, and that provisions 

have been made for that purpose and will be completed without 

any delay or any disposition for delay, is unabated. 

" 2d. That no prejudicial movement to the South is contem- 
plated as respects Fort Pickens. I shall be able to speak posi- 
tively to-morrow afternoon. 

(Signed) "J. A. C. 

"21st of March, 1861." 

On the morning of the 2 2d of March the interview took place, 
when a full and satisfactory conversation was had. The Secretary 
was "buoyant and sanguine." He thought that the prospect of 
maintaining peace was encouraging. In reply to an inquiry of 
Justice Campbell in regard to the delay in the evacuation of Sumter, 
the Secretary stated that there was no change in regard to the 
determination in reference to Fort Sumter; that the resolution had 
been come to in the Cabinet " and its execution committed to the 
President;" that the delay was accidental, and " that there was 
nothing in the delay that affected the integrity of the promise or 
denoted any intention not to comply." The status at Fort 
Pickens was not to be altered, and if any contrary purpose was 
determined upon, the Justice should be informed. 

This assurance of the Secretary of State was repeated in 
writing to the Commissioners on the evening of that day, by Justice 
Campbell, who assured them, as the result of the interviews, that he 
had " unabated confidence " in regard to the evacuation of Fort 
Sumter, and that provisions had been made for carrying it into 
effect; that the delay that had occurred did not excite in him 
" apprehension or distrust." He counseled inaction as to any 
demand on the Government, assuring them that he would have 
knowledge of any change of determination or purpose, a fact 
which the Commissioners considered as of infinite importance. 
A memorandum of this interview was made by Justice Campbell, 
and after having been submitted to the Secretary of State was 
left with the Commissioners. It was as follows: 

" No. 3. 

** As the result of my mterviewing of to-day I have to say 



332 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



that I have still unabated confidence that Fort Sumter will be 
evacuated, and that no delay that has occurred excites in me any 
apprehension or distrust, and that the state of things existing at 
Fort Pickens will not be altered prejudicially to the Confederate 
States. I counsel inactivity in making demands on the Govern- 
ment for the present. I shall have knowledge of any change in 
the existing status. 

(Signed) " J. A. C. 

<' 22d March, 1861." 

The results of these interviews were at once communicated by 
the Commissioner to the authorities at Montgomery, and often 
with exaggerated comment and conclusion. On the 22dof March, 
after the important interview just noticed, one of the Commis- 
sioners, in his communication to the authorities at Montgomery, 
stated that the attendance of Justice Nelson at the interview was 
for the protection of Justice Campbell against the treachery of 
Secretary Seward and such other members of the Cabinet -is he 
sees, and that Justice Campbell felt sure of guarding them, as a 
Commissioner, against deception and fraud, and at the same time 
have such protection for his own honor as would ensure him 
against treachery on the part of the Government. The Commis- 
sioner believed that the party in favor of a peaceful issue was 
gaining strength, that they would be met and the points discussed; 
and they believed, too, that rather than appeal to the sword to 
restore them to the Union, the seceding States would be allowed 
to depart. The confident assurances that Sumter would be evac- 
uated, as well as that the state of things at Fort Pickens would 
not be changed to their prejudice, had still further inclined them 
to any reasonable delay. At the same time, the Commissioners, 
were careful to state that the friends of peace in the Cabinet were 
actuated, by the desire of increasing any disaffection that might 
exist in the South looking ultimately to an overthrow of the 
Confederate Government and the reconstruction of the Union. 
In regard to the action of the judges, the Commissioner reported 
that they were used to show the exact powers of the admin- 
istration under the Constitution and the laws.* 



• " We have hitherto informed you that the judges of the Supreme Court, or 
these two at least, were being used to show the administration the exact power 
which it has under the Constitution and the laws to use the army and the navy 
to invade the States or collect the customs outside the forts." Correspondence 
of the Confederate Commissioners, p. 87, manuscript copy. 



CONFEDERATE SECRETARY OF STATE REPLIES. 



ZZ2> 



When the delay in regard to any action as to Fort Sumter 
became known, and matters seemed to be growing more serious, 
Justice Nelson retired from any further participation in the nego- 
tiations, and left Washington on the day of the last interview, the 
22d of March. He was satisfied with the results of the efforts 
made by him in favor of peace, but he deemed that the affairs 
seemed to be going further than he had contemplated. His 
colleague, Justice Campbell, was likewise impressed, but being so 
far involved, he determined, upon the advice of Justice Nelson, to 
continue until the evacuation of Fort Sumter, relying upon the 
alleged promises of the Secretary of State, and then to withdraw 
from further participation in the matter.* 

The reluctance manifested upon the part of the Committee to 
yield to any delay in prosecuting the objects of their mission, 
was largely assumed, as their secret instructions were to retard 
the negotiation, and to delay until the Confederate authorities 
were prepared to act.f 

The important interviews at Washington, and the resulting 
correspondence of their Commissioners, had engaged the earnest 
attention of the authorities at Montgomery. 

On the 28th of March, the Confederate Secretary of State 
replied to the communication just received from the Commis- 
sioners commending the forbearance shown in view of the hope of 
a peaceful adjustment. The " conciliatory consideration "' which 
the Commissioners had shown for the United States Government, 
had gratified the President (Davis), as well as that proper precau- 
tion had been taken against deception and misunderstanding, a 
necessity obvious when the time specified had elapsed and no 
change was made at Fort Sumter, so confidently predicted. That 
while relying upon the representations of Justice Campbell, the 
Government does not place the same confidence in the good 
faith and sincerity of those from whom Justice Campbell draws 
his convictions. He alleged, also, that there was good reason to 



* To an inquiry of Justice Campbell if he could rely upon the Secretary, 
Justice Nelson replied, "He will not deceive you." (Southera Historical 
Society, p. 24.) 

t In a conversation with Colonel John Forsyth, one of the Commissioners, 
the writer was told that the secret instructions from Montgomery were " to play 
with Seward, to delay and gain time until the South was ready." Mobile, 
Ala., 1870. 



334 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



believe that changes have been made at Fort Pickens with a view 
to strengthen it, while assurances had been given that there was 
no intention to change its status; that the policy pursued by the 
United States Government tended directly to produce an impres- 
sion of distrust. That it was undoubted that a pacific policy was 
pursued only where the Confederacy had the power to compel 
obedience to their demand, but not otherwise; and unless a 
" graceless surrender of untenable power " should be mistaken 
by the Confederate authorities for a voluntary evidence of 
peaceful and conciliatory sentiment, the means employed by the 
Government of the United States seemed to fail of success. They 
were therefore to urge, with firmness, the evacuation of all the 
forts now within the borders of the Confederacy, as an indispen- 
sable condition to peace or negotiation. The Commissioners 
were also directed to ask explanation in regard to the " unusually 
large naval force in the ports of the United States at this time," 
and they were to remark that it had attracted the serious atten- 
tion of this (Confederate) Government.* 

The Commissioners had not yet had a personal interview with 
any member of the administration, when, on the morning of the 24th 
of March, the Russian minister, Baron Stoeckl, called upon Mr, 
Roman, one of the Commissioners, at his residence in Washington. 
He informed him that he had had a free conversation with the Sec- 
retary of State in regard to the condition of things in the country; 
that the Secretary had expressed an earnest desire for a peaceful 
settlement, and repudiated the idea of force; the peace policy 
would prevail in time, the Secretary thought, and the difficulties 
surrounding him should be considered. 

In reporting the result of this interview to his Government, 
Mr. Roman stated that he had had cordial interviews with the 
Russian minister. Baron Stoeckl, from whom he received warm 
assurances of Mr. Seward's pacific intentions, and an invitation to 
meet the Secretary of State over a cup of tea at the Russian 
legation. This informal meeting, however, did not take place, 
the Secretary having found that he could not accept. The Com- 
missioners were still under the impression that the peace policy 
would be successful, and they believed that they were gaining by 
inactivity and delay; but they did not fail to express their anxiety 



* Confederate State Department to Commissioners, March 28. 



CORRESPONDENCE OF COMMISSIONERS. 335 

that the demand for their reception or rejection should be made 
upon the very first day when their Government were ready to 
meet the consequences. 

The Russian minister had informed them of his apprehension 
that the Secretary of State had been overruled in his policy. But 
while this was not the opinion of the Commissioners, they advised 
"active preparations for defense by sea and land;" that a strong 
force should be displayed at Fort Pickens, so that the adminis- 
tration might "have an excuse for evacuating that fort;" 
"unavoidable delays have attended the evacuation of Sumter, 
but it will be done;" and they closed their communication of the 
26th of March by stating that " it was a proposition not yet 
solved, whether the administration was more afraid of the Con- 
federate States or of the radical Republicans." They again ask 
for instructions from the "President," but before they are sent 
they desire to inform him that " the British minister here said to 
a friend,"* that if he had been directed to state to the United 
States Government " that England would not recognize the Con- 
federate States, he would not have obeyed the order, but would 
have requested further instructions." They also inform their 
Government that the Russian minister had that day said to the 
Secretary of State that he need not hesitate to recognize the 
Confederacy, for the European powers would certainly do so. In 
his actions in the matter, the Russian minister desired that his 
name and connection with it should be " considered as strictly 
confidential"! 

Three days afterward, one of the Commissioners again writes 
that the peace policy was gaining ground, but was not openly 
avowed by the administration, only because public opinion was 
not yet prepared for its announcement, as it would affect pending 
elections in Rhode Island and Connecticut; that the Secretary 
of State would shortly return to his idea of an informal interview 
with the Commissioner; that he dared not go so far as a final 
treaty of peace, but "for a truce or cessation of hostilities" 
until the next Congress should meet. The difficulty in the way 
of the administration consisted in finding means to communicate 



* Mr. W. W. Corcoran. 

t Commissioners Crawford and Roman to Confederate Secretary of State, 
March 26, 1861. 



336 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

with the Commission without appearing to acknowledge the inde- 
pendence of the Confederacy. He also reported that the French 
minister, who had also spoken confidentially of the present and 
future of the Confederacy, had observed that from what he had 
learned from other sources, a truce maintaining the present 
status would be arranged. Under such circumstances, while not 
knowing what France would do, he assumed that she would 
naturally follow the example of the Government of the United 
States. 

The course adopted by the Commissioners was approved by 
their Government. Delay was now commended, as being benefi- 
cial in enabling the Confederacy to make all necessary arrange- 
ments for the public defense; and while the United States Gov- 
ernment pursued their "hesitating and doubting" policy, no 
formal demand for an answer to their note was to be made, as long 
as they could maintain their position with honor, or unless they 
were specially instructed to the contrary. Nothing was to be 
done to compel the United States to assume a definite position; 
while it continued to follow its present " vacillating and uncertain 
course,"neither declaring war nor establishing peace, "the Confeder- 
ate States had the advantage of both and could better prepare them- 
selves for the future. The motives for the policy pursued by the 
Secretary of State were " a matter of no importance " to them. 
It would redound to their advantage should a truce be proposed, 
as the Commission regarded as a probable event; they were 
instructed not to agree to such proposition unless Fort Sumter 
and Fort Pickens should be evacuated, and that the troops then at 
Forts Taylor and Jefferson, in Florida, should not be removed 
during the sickly season, to be subsequently returned, for, said 
the Confederate Secretary of State, "we want the advantages of 
the climate upon them." 

Intimate friendly relations with the representatives of foreign 
Governments were to be maintained, and the Spanish minister was 
to be assured of the desire of the Confederacy to cultivate "close 
and friendly relations with Spain," as it was " fully sensible of 
the importance of a great European power possessing naval col- 
onies " in its neighborhood. 

While matters were thus progressing in Washington, and, as 
each side presumed, favorably to their especial view, the author- 
ities of South Carolina had become impatient at the delay. The 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND JUSTICE CAMPBELL. 337 

promise made to them by the agent, Lamon, that he would shortly 
return to remove the garrison from Fort Sumter, had not been 
fulfilled. Time was passing, and the necessity of some decided 
action became every day more apparent, if a conflict was to be 
avoided. On the 30th of March, the Governor of the State tele- 
graphed the facts of Lamon' s visit to the Commissioners at Wash- 
ington, who at once communicated with Justice Campbell. Seeking 
an interview with the Secretary of State, he left the telegram with 
him, with the understanding that a reply would be made on the ist 
of April. On that day the Secretary informed Justice Campbell 
that " the President was concerned at the contents of the telegram." 
The question involved a point of honor, and that Lamon had no 
commission or authority from him, nor " any power to pledge him 
by any promise or assurance;" and so desirous was the President 
that Governor Pickens should be satisfied of this, that Justice 
Campbell was requested to question Lamon, who had been sent 
to an adjoining room by the President. This he declined, at the 
same time inquiring what he should communicate upon the sub- 
ject of Fort Sumter. To this the Secretary made no verbal reply, 
but taking material, wrote to the effect " that the President may 
desire to supply Fort Sumter, but will not undertake to do so 
without first giving notice to Governor Pickens," and handed the 
written statement to Justice Campbell. The effect was marked 
and immediate. The result of their previous interviews had been 
to convince him that the evacuation of the fort had been wholly 
determined upon, and he had so informed the Commissioners, who, 
thus convinced, were only awaiting the action of the Government. 
When, therefore, he now received the written statement of the 
Secretary that the question of the supply of Fort Sumter was still 
an open one, it filled him with anxiety, and he at once inquired 
whether the President intended to make such an attempt. " I 
think not," replied the Secretary. The ease of access to the 
President was then stated, as well as the constant suggestions of 
plans for the relief of the fort. " I do not think he will attempt 
it," said the Secretary; "there is no intention to reinforce it." 
At once Justice Campbell urged that the evacuation of the fort had 
been regarded as settled, and that " the expression of a desire 
would be regarded as an abandonment of the conclusion to do 
so," and might bring on an attack ; that it was difficult to restrain 
South Carolina as it was, and that he would not recommend an 



338 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

answer that did not express the purpose of the Government. To 
this the Secretary replied, *'I must see the President." Shortly 
afterward he returned, and modified the expression of the previous 
paper as follows : " I am satisfied the Government will not under- 
take to supply Fort Sumter without giving notice to Governor 
Pickens."* 

It was understood, at the same time, that '* the import of the 
conversation previously had " was unaflected by what had just 
taken place, and the result of the interview, with the verbal 
explanation of the Secretary, was to satisfy the Justice entirely 
with the good faith of the Government, " in everything except the 
time as to when Fort Sumter was to have been evacuated." The 
subject and the result of the interview were at once communi- 
cated to Montgomery by the Commissioners, who informed their 
Government that the truth in regard to the evacuation of Sumter 
" is, the promise was made after the Cabinet and President had 
agreed to the order for evacuation," and there was no reason to 
expect that " any influence whatever " would postpone it by the 
persons thus pledging its fulfillment; that the mission of Colonel 
Lamon was solely for the purpose of making the necessity for the 
evacuation moie manifest, in order to justify the President and 
his administration " from the indignation consequent upon the 
act; " that Colonel Lamon had not returned to Sumter, as he had 
promised, " because the President had been forced to await the 
result of the elections in Connecticut and Rhode Island." 

As there was no intention to revoke the order, the Commissioner 
thought it better to indulge the President in his " vacillating 
course" rather than to attack the fort. He also reported that 
the ** Wall Street influence " had compelled the Secretary of the 
Treasury to declare that the administration would pursue a 
peaceful policy; that the whole want of the Confederacy was 
comprised in the word peace ^ and that the " question of 
force" became the important one to be first settled, and he asks 
that, the fort evacuated and the status preserved, would it not be 
better to make no demand which could be peremptorily refused? 



* " I asked Mr. Seward, What does this mean ? does the President design to 
attempt to supply Sumter ? " He answei-ed, " No; I think not. It is a very irk- 
some thin ^ to him to surrender it. His ears are open to every one, and they 
fill his head with schemes for its supply. I do not think that he will adopt any 
of them. There is no design to reinforce it. " (Campbell's MSS. p. 7.) 



RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF EVENTS. 



339 



While they had not been able to obtain a recognition of their 
official position or the preservation of the military status, they 
had obtained trom the General Government "an explicit promise" 
that no hostile movement should be made; and they had secured 
this with the advantage that the Confederate States " were not 
bound in any way whatever to observe the same course " toward 
the Government of the United States, and that they might go on 
and organize their army and concentrate their forces at their 
discretion.* 

The policy to be pursued was thus defined by the Commission 
and approved of by the authorities at Montgomery. But events 
began to follow each other with a rapidity that finally disclosed 
the purpose of the Government. Upon the same date, and in 
anticipation of their letter, a telegram was sent by the Com- 
missioners to Montgomery, to the effect that the President had 
not the courage to execute the order which the Commission knew 
to have been agreed upon in the Cabinet for the evacuation of the 
fort; that he intended " to shift the responsibility upon Major 
Anderson by suffering him to be starved out;" and they recom- 
mend the cutting off of all supplies, as an assault upon the fort 
would cause an unnecessary shedding of blood and concentrate 
public opinion in favor of the Government. On the 2d of April 
they again telegraphed that the "war wing" pressed upon the 
President, and that he leaned to that side and had consulted with 
certain naval engineers; and again on the 3d, that much activity 
prevailed in the War and Navy departments, and the movements 
of war vessels was reported, but that it was believed that a 
demonstration against Spain was intended. In the uncertainty 
that prevailed. Justice Campbell had stated that the Government 
dared not deceive him, as they knew that the Commission did not 
rely upon them, but upon him. Events were now rapidly develop- 
ing. On the 6th the Commissioners telegraphed that the rumors 
of the warlike armaments, already referred to as destined for 
Forts Pickens and Sumter, were daily growing stronger. 

The evidences of some movement upon the part of the 
Government were now so manifest as to induce the general 
belief that a vigorous policy had been determined upon, which 
pointed with all but official accuracy to Forts Sumter and 



Comiaissioner Crawford to Confederate Secretary of State, April i, 1861. 



340 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



Pickens. The concourse of nine Governors of Northern States 
in Washington, and their pledges of support to the Government, 
gave strength to the report which the unexplained movement of 
vessels of " war and transport seemed to confirm." " The tone 
of one party became more menacing, and of the other more 
anxious and despondent." 

" The movement of troops, and preparation on board of vessels 
of war, of which you have already been apprised, are continued 
with the greatest activity. An important move requiring a for- 
midable military and naval force is certainly on foot," wrote the 
Commissioner to his Government on the 5th of April, and he 
deemed it to be his duty to call at once upon the Justice for the 
fulfillment of the pledge made in regard to Fort Sumter " or for 
explanation." At once, upon the morning of the 7th, Justice 
Campbell in a communication to the Secretary of State called his 
attention to the alarm that had been created by the preparation of 
the Government by the unusual movements of troops, and of the 
reports of conversations of the President that had *' some appear- 
ance of authority." He recites the assurances he had given to 
the Commissioner, and he asks to be informed if they " were well 
or ill founded;" and he expresses his apprehension of a collision, 
and volunteers to go himself to Montgomery to aid in any 
arrangement of the difficulties. On the 8th, in response to his 
communication, an envelope to his address was received by Justice 
Campbell, containing a paper without date or signature, and upon 
which was written, " Faith as to Sumter fully kept; wait and see; 
other suggestions received, and will be respectfully considered."* 
The response was not satisfactory to the Commissioner. There 
was " no change in the activity of the warlike armaments, nor in 
the rumors assigning their operation to the South."f 

The Commissioners concluded that the reinforcement of Fort 
Pickens was the object of the expedition, as it was net referred to 
in the reply of the Secretary, and that an attempt to supply, but 
not to reinforce, Sumter would be made. Under this conviction, 
they determined to call for an answer to their official note of the 
1 2th of March, demanding an audience, at the same time notify- 



* Origiiial paper, Justice C-impbeirs MSS. 

t" Such Government by blindman's buff, stumbling along too far, will end 
by the general overturn. Fort Sumter, I fear, is a case past arrangement." 
(From draft of original letter, April 7, 1861. Justice Campbell's MSS.) 



COM. RECEIVE MEM. OF SECRETARY OF STATE. 



341 



ing the Government that their Secretary would call for a reply 
upon the following day. This action was at once reported to 
their Government by telegram on the 7th of April, with the state 
ment that a hostile movement was on foot and that part of it 
had sailed against the Confederate States. It might be Sumter, 
but it was "almost certain that it was Pickens and the Texas 
frontier." Should the reply of the Secretary of State be unsatis- 
factory, they should consider the gauntlet of war thrown down, 
and would close their mission. 

The State authorities at Charleston were meantime wholly 
aroused to the situation, hourly becoming more complicated. On 
the 7th of April Governor Pickens had telegraphed to the Com- 
missioners at Washington, inquiring if it had been determined to 
reinforce Fort Sumter; so many extraordinary telegrams had been 
received, that he would like to be informed of the truth of the 
statement. 

The Commissioners replied to the telegram of the Governor 
on the 8th of April, that the military and naval movements were 
conducted with extraordinary secrecy, but that they were assured 
that he would not be disturbed without notice, and that they 
thought that Fort Sumter would be evacuated and Fort Pickens 
provisioned. On the same day the Confederate general in com- 
mand at Charleston, deeming the accounts so uncertain, called 
out several thousand volunteers; while a telegram from one of the 
Commissioners, Mr. Crawford, was received by the same ofificerto 
the effect that the reports were uncertain, on account of the 
constant vacillation of the Government; that they had been 
assured upon the previous day that the status at Sumter would 
not be changed without previous notice to Governor Pickens, but 
that they had no faith in the assurance given. 

A copy of the memorandum of the Secretary of State, on file 
in the State Department, was handed by the Assistant Secretary 
to the messenger of the Commissioners, who called for it on the 8th 
of April. It was dated March 15, and had long been awaiting 
the call of the Commissioners. The circumstances attending 
the presentation of the communication of the Commissioners were 
stated, and the reasons and grounds upon which their request for 
an interview with the President was based, were recapitulated, 
and the Secretary frankly confessed that he entertained a very 
different view of the recent events and the actually existing 



342 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



political condition from that of the Commissioners. He saw in 
them, not a rightful and accomplished revolution and an 
independent nation with an established Government, but, rather, 
a perversion of a temporary and partisan excitement to the pur- 
pose of an unjustifiable and unconstitutional aggression upon the 
rights and authority of the Government; and he looked not to 
irregular negotiations nor to agencies unknown to the Constitution, 
but to the regular and considerate action of tne people of those 
States through Congress and through extraordinary conventions 
for the cure of the evils which had resulted from such unnecessary, 
unwise and unnatural proceedings. He denied that the Con- 
federate States constituted a foreign power, to be dealt with diplo- 
matically. His official duties were to conduct the foreign relations 
of the country, and did not embrace domestic questions; and as 
Secretary of State he had no authority to recognize them or hold 
any correspondence with them as diplomatic agents, and in this, 
he was supported by the President himself, whom he had con- 
sulted out of the respect for the people of the Union in whose 
name the Commissioners had presented themselves. The memo- 
randum was received with deep feeling. 

In view of the communication received by them through 
Justice Campbell, the Commissioners concluded that they had been 
"abused and overreached," and in this they were sustained by 
their Government at Montgomery; and they prepared an imme- 
diate rejoinder, violent in its expressions and denunciatory in its 
tone, and reflecting upon the intercourse held by Justice Campbell 
with the Secretary of State, and which they proposed to publish 
or to send to Montgomery. An earnest protest to this was at 
once made by Justice Campbell, who again urged that he had 
"assumed all of the responsibility of the intercourse, and had 
not appeared as the agent of the Secretary or to speak at his 
request," and that he had expressly informed the Commissioner 
with whom he dealt, that there was no inference to be drawn that 
the Justice derived information from the Secretary of State or from 
any special source. To this the Commissioners acquiesced, and 
expunged the objectionable features of their reply, and on the 9th 
of April transmitted to the Secretary their final communication. 
In it they alleged that the Government of the United States had 
not chosen to meet the Commissioners in the " conciliatory and 
peaceful spirit " in which they were commissioned, that in charac- 



MEMORANDUM OF SECRETARY OF STATE. 



34: 



terizing the "deliberate sovereign act" of the people of the 
Confederate States as a "perversion of a temporary and partisan 
excitement" was to deal "with delusions;" that the refusal to 
entertain overtures for a peaceful solution of the difficulties, the 
formal notice to the authorities in Charleston Harbor of the inten 
tion to provision Fort Sumter, by force if necessary, could only be 
received as a declaration of war, which the Commissioners, in 
behalf of their Government and people, accepted, and would 
appeal to God and to the judgment of mankind. Upon the re- 
ceipt of this communication, the Secretary of State directed that 
the following " memorandum " should be filed in his department, 
and, if requested, a copy should be delivered to the Commis- 
sioners: 

" Memorandum. 

♦' Messrs. Forsyth, Crawford and Roman, having been apprised 
by a memorandum, which has been delivered to them, that the 
Secretary of State is not at liberty to hold official intercourse 
with them, will, it is presumed, expect no notice from him of the 
new communication which they have addressed to him, under the 
date of the 9th inst., beyond the simple acknowledgment of the 
receipt thereof, which he hereby very cheerfully gives. 

" Department of State, 
"Washington, April 10, 1861." 

Upon the same day a telegram was sent to the authorities at 
Montgomery by the Commissioners, to the effect that " this Gov- 
ernment politely declines, in a written paper, to recognize our 
official character or the power we lepresent." 

Such parts of the despatches of the Commissioners as narrate 
their own proceedings are doubtless exact and entirely reliable. 
If those portions which refer to the opinions, acts and conversa- 
tion of others are less so, it is to be remembered that these were 
necessarily based only upon such information as could be 
obtained in a period of high excitement. 

Detained by freshets, they again telegraphed, on the loth, 
both to Montgomery and to Charleston, that the public press had 
announced that the main object of the expedition was the relief 
of Sumter. On the nth the Commissioners left Washington, 
having confided to their Secretary the transaction of such matters 
in their interest as might arise after their departure; and he was 
to furnish to such representatives of foreign Governments as were 



344 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



known to be friendly to their cause, copies of their correspondence 
with the General Government. 

But before their departure, a telegram had come from the 
commanding general at Charleston on the 8th inst., announcing 
the arrival of the special messenger with the notice of the Presi- 
dent of the United States that Fort Sumter was " to be provi- 
sioned either peaceably or otherwise forcibly." 

Dissatisfied with the result, Justice Campbell, on the 13th inst., 
addressed a communication to the Secretary of State. Fort 
Sumter had been fired upon, and the intelligence had reached 
Washington, and it was with a view to some explanation of this 
occurrence that the communication was made. All of the steps 
taken, as well as the promises made, were recited, and the 
opinion given " that the equivocating conduct of the administra- 
tion, as measured and interpreted in connection with these prom- 
ises, is the proximate cause of the great calamity;" and he con- 
cludes by stating that it was his " profound conviction " that the 
action of the authorities at Montgomery could be referred to 
nothing else than their belief that a systematic duplicity had 
been practiced upon them through him. 

To this communication, no response was made by the Secre- 
tary. On the 20th, one week later, Justice Campbell enclosed a 
copy of his previous communication, disclaiming any conclusions 
unfavorable to the Secretary, nor any opinion not susceptible of 
modification by explanation. An explanation was, however, in- 
sisted upon, as the Justice thought that the assurances of the 
Secretary had been continued after the decision in regard to Sumter 
had been abandoned. In case of refusal he would not hold him- 
self debarred from placing " these letters" before such persons as 
were entitled to an explanation from him. His full title as 
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States was 
signed to this communication.* Thus ended the " voluntary inter- 
position " of an official high in position, and whose sole object was 
to prevent a collision which would inaugurate war between the 
States. Like many of his countrymen, he believed that, in the pres- 
ervation of peace, a settlement would be ultimately reached that 
would satisfy the best and most patriotic minds, and to this end 
he devoted his best energies. He opposed the secession of his 

* Justice Campbell to Secretary Seward, April 20, 1861 ; original paper. 



JUSTICE CAMPBELLS FINAL ACTION. x\^ 

State, and condemned all that resembled a conspiracy against the 
Union of the States. So anxious was he to interpose between the 
conflicting elements, that he had in January, and before the 
inauguration of the President-elect, initiated a correspondence 
with him through the medium of Mr. Montgomery Blair. In this 
he urged that the President-elect should define the principles 
which were to govern his administration and quiet the apprehen- 
sion that was prevailing. A reply directed to John A. Gilmer 
was received from the President, declining to anticipate his 
inaugural. 

But the firing upon Fort Sumter speedily and with great dis- 
tinctness defined the positions of all who yet doubted as to their 
especial course. Justice Campbell, upon his return to the South, 
found that he had been misrepresented by one of the Commis- 
sioners, in his relations to the negotiation. He was styled an 
" emissary of Lincoln," and an attempt was made to discredit 
him with his people. As time rolled on and the war progressed, 
he gave in his adhesion, and finally was promoted to high office 
under the Confederacy. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

Anderson's estimate of force necessary to relieve him— Referred to General 
Scott — His opinion — Plan of relief of Captain Fox — President calls for 
written opinions of his Cabinet in regard to Sumter— Views of the Secre- 
tary of State — Opinions of the Secretary of War, Postmaster-Geneial, 
Secretary of the Treasury — Opinion of Brigadier-General Totten, Chiet 
Engineer— General Scott changes his views — Abandonment of Fort Sum- 
ter a " sure necessity"— His Memorandum for the Secretary of War — 
Francis P. Blair — His interview with the President— Letter of the Post- 
master-General — Speculations upon the opinions of the Cabinet — Secretary 
Chase corrects statement of his position — His letters — Final position of the 
Secretary of War. 

While active preparations both within and without the work 
were in progress, a report, to the effect that the garrison was to be 
withdrawn and the fort evacuated, had been circulated, and in 
large measure credited. The question of its relief had been 
forced upon the attention of the President and his Cabinet, from 
the moment of the organization of the new administration. The 
estimate of Major Anderson in regard to the force necessary to 
relieve him, together with that of his officers, had been referred 
by the orders of the President, to Lieutenant-General Scott, who 
at once " concurred " with Major Anderson in opinion. He 
desired time, however, to reflect upon it, and at the end of four 
days, after consultation " with other officers both of the Army and 
Navy," came, ''reluctantly but decidedly, to the same conclusion 
as before." This opinion of General Scott, sustained as it was 
by that of Brigadier-General Totten, the Chief Engineer, produced 
an effect upon the new Cabinet wholly unfavorable to any attempt 
to relieve Fort Sumter. 

The question was the absorbing one to the administration, and 
the President, before coming to a decision, determined to again 
refer to General Scott. On the 12th of March, he addressed to 
him an inquiry as to " what amount of means, and what descrip- 
tion, in addition to those already at command, it would require 
to supply and reinforce the fort." In his reply the Lieutenant- 
General stated that " as a practical military question, the time for 

346 



PLAN OF CAPTAIN FOX TO RELIEVE SUMTER. 



347 



succoring Fort Sumter had passed away nearly a month ago." 
Its surrender from assault or starvation was merely a question 
of time, and that he should require 5,000 regular troops and 
20,000 volunteers to take the batteries. The co-operation of the 
Navy would be necessary, and this, in its scattered condition, 
could not be collected in less than four months, nor the army he 
required in less than six or eight. 

While the plan of Commander Ward had now been abandoned 
even by himself, that of Captain Fox was first discussed at this 
meeting of the Cabinet. The Postmaster-General was his rela- 
tive. He had warmly sympathized with Captain Fox in his views, 
and had urged their adoption upon the administration. He 
believed that the announcement by the President, that he would 
" hold, occupy and possess" the strong places and properties of 
the Government, committed him and his administration to the 
retention of Fort Sumter under all circumstances, and to this posi- 
tion he adhered with consistency and energy until the last. Both 
before and after his appointment to a Cabmet position, he had 
been earnest in the expression of his views that relief should be 
sent, and in response to a telegram from him of the r 2th of March, 
Captain Fox again arrived in Washington, and on the morning of 
the 13th accompanied him to the President. The plan in detail 
was explained. In reply to the objection now urged by General 
Scott, that the batteries established would render the plan impos- 
sible, it was urged by Captain Fox that a steam naval force 
could pass any number of guns there, and for the reason that the 
course was at right angles to the line of fire, and the distance, 
1,300 yards, too great for accurate firing at night. 

It was at this time (13th) that the idea of visiting Fort Sumter 
in person suggested itself to Captain Fox. In this the President 
acquiesced, provided that the consent of the Secretary of War 
and of General Scott could be obtained. 

Cabinet meetings were now frequent, and at each of them the 
subject of the relief of Fort Sumter was the principal topic of 
discussion. In this consideration of the subject, the President 
determined to obtain the written opinions of his Cabinet, and 
accordingly, on the 15th of March, he addressed to each the fol- 
lowing inquiry. 

"Executive Mansion, March 15, 1861. 

^^ My dear Sir: Assuming it to be possible to now provision 



348 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Fort Sumter, under the circumstances is it wise to attempt it? 
Please give me your opinion in writing on this question. 
"Your obedient servant, 

" A. Lincoln." 

The responses of his Cabinet were soon laid before the Presi- 
dent. The views of the Secretary of State were well known. He 
was in favor of a peaceful solution of the difificulties. He had 
not disguised his conviction that the garrison of Fort Sumter 
should be withdrawn, relying as he did upon the sober second 
thought of the South in view of the peaceful intentions of the 
North. His reply, therefore, to the inquiry of the President was 
in accordance with the views long held by him, and urged before 
his entry into the Cabinet of Mr. Lincoln. These convictions 
found clear and unmistakable assertion in his ofificial despatch of 
April 10, to our minister at London.* He believed that our 
Federal system " had within itself adequate and recuperative 
forces," whereby the exercise of firmness in maintaining and pre- 
serving the public property, and in executing the laws where it 
could be done without " waging war," would be sufficient to 
secure the public safety until returning reflection should bring 
the " recusant members " back again to their '* natural home." 
The Constitution provided for that return by a national conven- 
tion, by which all real obstacles could be removed. If, however, 
civil war should break out during the present administration, it 
must come through the agency of those who had chosen to be its 
enemies, and that the President, for whom he spoke, did not 
doubt, in that case, that the American people would rise up with 
a unanimity which should vindicate their wisdom and their 
virtue, and save the imperilled Union. 

When, therefore, the inquiry of the President was submitted 
to him, as to his associates in the Cabinet, he did not hesitate to 
express those convictions which influenced him in his official 
course, until Fort Sumter was fired upon by the Confederate 
authorities. 

In his reply he said: 

" Department of State, 

" Washington, March 15, 1861. 

" The President submits to me the following question : 
' Assuming it to be possible to now provision Fort Sumter, under 
all the circumstances is it wise to attempt it ? ' 



Seward to Adams, April 10, 1861. Diplomatic correspondence, i86i. 



OPINION OF SECRETARY OF STATE. 



349 



" If it were possible to peacefully provision Fort Sumter, of 
course I should answer that it would be both unwise and inhuman 
not to attempt it. But the facts of the case are known to be that 
the attempt must be made with the employment of a military and 
marine force, which would provoke combat and probably initiate 
a civil war, which the Government of the United States would be 
committed to maintain through all changes to some definitive 
conclusion. 

" History must record that a sectional party, practically con- 
stituting a majority of the people of the fifteen slaves States, 
excited to a high state of jealous apprehension for the safety of 
life and property by impassioned though groundless appeals, went 
into the late election with a predetermined purpose, if unsuc- 
cessful at the polls, to raise the standard of secession immedi- 
ately afterwards, and to separate the slave States, or so many of 
them as could be detached from the Union, and to organize them 
in a new, distinct and independent Confederacy. That party was 
unsuccessful at the polls. 

" In the frenzy which followed the announcement of their 
defeat, they put the machinery of the State Legislatures and 
Conventions into motion, and within the period of three months 
they have succeeded in obtaining Ordinances of Secession by 
which seven of the slave States have seceded and organized a new 
Confederacy under the name of the * Confederated States of 
America.' These States, finding a large number of the mints, 
custom houses, forts and arsenals of the United States situated 
within their limits, unoccupied, undefended and virtually 
abandoned by the late administration, have seized and appro- 
priated them to their own use, and, under the same circumstances, 
have seized and appropriated to their own use large amounts of 
money and other public property of the United States found 
within their limits. The people of the other slave States, divided 
and balancing between sympathy with the seceding slave States 
and loyalty to the Union, have been intensely excited, but at the 
present moment mdicate a disposition to adhere to the Union if 
nothing extraordinary shall occur to renew excitement and pro- 
duce popular exasperation. This is the stage in this premeditated 
revolution at which we now stand. 

" The opening of this painful controversy at once raised the 
question, whether it would be for the interest of the country to 
admit the projected dismemberment, with its consequent evils, or 
whether patriotism and humanity require that it shall be pre- 
vented. 

" As a citizen, my own decision on this subject was promptly 
made, namely, that the Union is inestimable, and even indispen- 
sable, to the welfare and happiness of the whole country, and to 
the best interests of mankind. As a statesman in the public 
service, I have not hesitated to assume that the Federal Govern- 



350 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



ment is committed to maintain, preserve and defend the Union — 
peacefully if it can, forcibly if it must — to every extremity. 
Next to disunion itself, I regard civil war as the most disastrous 
and deplorable of national calamities, and as the most uncertam 
and fearful of all remedies for political disorders. I have there- 
fore made it the study and labor of the hour, how to save the 
Union from dismemberment by peaceful policy and without civil 
war. 

" Influenced by these sentiments, I have felt that it is exceed- 
ingly fortunate that to a great extent the Federal Government 
occupies thus far not an aggressive attitude, but practically a 
defensive one, while the necessity for action, if civil war is to be 
initiated, falls on those who seek to dismember and to subvert 
the Union. 

" It has seemed to me equally fortunate that the disunionists 
are absolutely without any justification for their rash and 
desperate designs. The administration of the Government had 
been for a long time, virtually in their own hands, and controlled 
and directed by themselves, when they began the work of revolu- 
tion. They had, therefore, no other excuse than apprehensions of 
oppression from the new and adverse administration which was 
about to come into power. 

" It seems to me, further, to be a matter of good fortune that 
the new and adverse administration must come in with both 
Houses of Congress containing majorities opposed to its policy, 
so that, even if it would, it could commit no wrong or injustice 
against the States which were being madly goaded into revolution. 
Under these circumstances, disunion could have no better basis 
to stand upon than a blind, unreasoning, popular excitement, 
arising out of a simple and harmless disappointment in a Presi- 
dential election — that excitement, if it should find no new ailment, 
must soon subside and leave disunion without any real support. 
On the other hand, I have believed firmly that everywhere, even 
in South Carolina, devotion to the Union is a profound and 
permanent national sentiment, which, although it may be sup- 
pressed and silenced by terror for a time, could if encouraged, be 
ultimately relied upon to rally the people of the seceding States 
to reverse, upon due deliberation, all the popular acts of Legisla- 
tures and conventions by which they were hastily and violently 
committed to disunion. 

" The policy of the time, therefore, has seemed to me to con- 
sist in conciliation, which should deny to Disunionists any new 
provocation or apparent offense, while it would enable the Union- 
ists in the slave States to maintain, with truth and with effect, that 
the alarms and apprehensions put forth by the Disunionists are 
groundless and false. 

** I have not been ignorant of the objections that the adminis- 
tration was elected through the activity of the Republican party ; 



OPINION OF SECRETAR V OF STA TE CONTINUED. 351 

that it must continue to deserve and retain the confidence of that 
party; while conciliation towards the slave States tends to demor- 
alize the Republican party itself, on which party the main respon- 
sibility of maintaining the Union must rest. 

" But it has seemed to me a sufficient answer, first, that the 
administration could not demoralize the Republican party without 
making some sacrifice of its essential principles, while no such 
sacrifice is necessary or is anywhere authoritatively proposed; and 
secondly, if it be indeed true that pacification is necessary to pre- 
vent dismemberment of the Union, and civil war, or either of 
them, no patriot and lover of humanity could hesitate to surrender 
party for the higher interests of country and humanity. 

" Partly by design, partly by chance, this policy has been 
hitherto pursued by the late administration of the Federal Gov- 
ernment and by the Republican party in its corporate action. It 
is by this policy, thus pursued, I think, that the progress of dis- 
memberment has been arrested after the seven Gulf States had 
seceded and the border States yet remain, although they do so 
uneasily, in the Union. 

" It is to a perseverance in this policy for a short time longer, 
that I look as the only peaceful means of assuring the continu- 
ance of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennes- 
see, Missouri and Arkansas, or most of those States, in the 
Union. It is through their good and patriotic offices, that I look 
to see the Union sentiment revived, and brought once more into 
activity in the seceding States, and through this agency, those 
States themselves returning into the Union. 

*' I am not unaware that I am conceding more than can 
reasonably be demanded by the people of the border States. 
They could, speaking justly, demand nothing; they are bound by 
the Federal obligation to adhere to the Union without concession 
or conciliation, just as much as the people of the free States are. 
But in administration we must deal with men, facts and circum- 
stances, not as they ought to be, but as they are. 

" The fact then is, that while the people of the border States 
desire to be loyal, they are at the same time sadly, though 
temporarily, demoralized by a sympathy for the slave States, 
which makes them forget their loyalty whenever there are any 
grounds for apprehending that the Federal Government will resort 
to military coercion against the seceding States, even though such 
coercion should be necessary to maintain the authority, or even 
the integrity, of the Union. This sympathy is unreasonable, 
unwise and dangerous, and therefore cannot, if left undisturbed, 
be permanent. It can be banished, however, only in one way, 
and that is by giving time for it to wear out, and for reason 
to resume its sway. Time will do this, if it be not hindered by 
new alarms and provocations. 

" South Carolina opened the revolution. Apprehending chas- 



352 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



tisement by the military arm of the United States, she seized all 
the forts of the United States in the harbor of Charleston, except 
Fort Sumter, which, garrisoned by less than one hundred men, 
stands practically in a state of siege, but at the same time defying 
South Carolina, and, as the seceding States imagine, menacing 
her with conquest. 

" Every one knows, first, that even if Sumter were adequately 
reinforced, it would still be practically useless to the Government, 
because the administration in no case could attempt to subjugate 
Charleston or the State of South Carolina. 

" It is held now because it is the property of the United States, 
and is a monument of their authority and sovereignty. I would so 
continue to hold it so long as it can be done without involving some 
danger or evil greater than the advantage of continued possession. 
The highest military authority tells us that, without supplies, 
the garrison must yield in a few days to starvation — that its num- 
b3rs are so small that it must yield in a few days to attack by the 
assailants now lying around it, and that the case in this respect 
would remain the same even if it were supplied, but not reinforced. 
All the military and naval authorities tell us that any attempt at 
supplies would be unavailing without the employment of armed 
military and naval force. If we employ armed force for the pur- 
pose of supplymg the fort, we give all the provocation that could 
be offered by combining reinforcement with supply. The question 
submitted to us, then, practically is. Supposing it to be possible to 
reinforce and supply Fort Sumter, is it wise now to attempt it, 
instead of withdrawing the garrison? 

*' The most that could be done by any means now in our hands, 
would be to throw two hundred and fifty to four hundred men 
into the garrison, with provisions for supplying it five or six months. 
In this active and enlightened country, in this season of excite- 
ment, with a daily press, daily mails, and an incessantly operating 
telegraph, the design to reinforce and supply the garrison must 
become known to the opposite party at Charleston as soon at least 
as preparation for it should begin. The garrison would then almost 
certainly fall by assault before the expedition could reach the har- 
bor of Charleston. But supposing the secret kept, the expedition 
must engage in conflict on entering the harbor of Charleston; 
suppose it to be overpowered and destroyed, is that new outrage 
to be avenged, or are we then to return to our attitude of immo- 
bility ? Should we be allowed to do so ? Moreover, in that event, 
what becomes of the garrison ? 

*' Suppose the expedition successful. We have then a garrison 
in Fort Sumter that can defy assault for six months. What is it to 
do then ? Is it to make war by opening its batteries and attempt- 
ing to demolish the defenses of the Carolinians ? Can it demolish 
them if it tries ? If it cannot, what is the advantage we shall have 
gained ? If it can, how will it serve to check or prevent disunion ? 



OPINION OF SECRETARY OF STATE CONCLUDED. 353 

In either case, it seems to me that we will have inaugurated a 
civil war by our own act, without an adequate object, atter which 
reunion will be hopeless, at least under this administration, or in 
any other way than by a popular disavowal, both of the war and 
of the administration which unnecessarily commenced it. Frater- 
nity is the element of union — war is the very element of dis- 
union. Fraternity, if practiced by this administration, will rescue 
the Union from all its dangers. If this administration, on the 
other hand, take up the sword, then an opposite party will offer 
the olive branch, and will, as it ought, profit by the restoration of 
peace and union. 

" I may be asked whether I would in no case and at no time 
advise force — whether I purpose to give up everything. I reply, no. 
I would not initiate a war to regain a useless and unnecessary 
position on the soil of the seceding States. I would not provoke 
war in any way 7iow. I would resort to force to protect the col- 
lection of the revenue, because that is a necessary as well as 
legitimate public object. Even then, it should be only a naval 
force that I would employ for that necessary purpose, while I 
would defer military action on land until a case should arise 
where we would hold the defensive. 

" In that case, we should have the spirit of the country and 
the approval of mankind on our side. In the other, we should 
peril peace and union, because we had not the courage to practice 
prudence and moderation at the cost of temporary misapprehen- 
sion. If this counsel seem to be impassive and even unpatriotic, 
I console myself by the reflection that it is such as Chatham gave 
to his country under circumstances not widely different." 

The opinion as expressed by the Secretary of War was import- 
ant. He had given the subject careful consideration, and he was 
*< reluctantly forced to the conclusion that it would be unwise 
now to make such an attempt;" that it was perhaps impossible 
to succor the fort without capturing the batteries around it by 
means of a large expedition; and that the officers within the fort, 
together with Generals Scott and Totten, expressed the same 
opinion; and it seemed to the Secretary that the President could 
not " disregard such high authority without overruling considera- 
tions of public policy." The opinion of Major Anderson, that he 
would not risk his reputation at an attempt at reinforcement, and 
to retain possession of the fort, with less than 20,000 men, was 
quoted by the Secretary, as well as that of General Scott, in his 
reply to the inquiry of the President of the 12th inst. There were 
others, the Secretary stated, who believed that there might be lim- 
ited relief of the fort without the employment of so large a force. 



354 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAK. 



The plan of Commander Ward was referred to, and the proba- 
bility of its success at the time, as assured by Lieutenant-General 
Scott, but the execution of which had been prevented by the late 
President. This plan had now been pronounced impracticable by 
competent officers, and in this Commander Ward himself " reluc- 
tantly concurs " before the present administration had assumed the 
government. 

The proposition of Captain Fox, as approved by Commodores 
Stringham and Stewart of the Navy, to attempt the supply of the 
fort by vessels of light draught and boats protected by armed 
vessels, was commended by the Secretary, and would be entitled 
to his favorable consideration if he did not feel that it would 
inaugurate a bloody and protracted conflict. 

The Secretary thought that what might have been done a 
month before, could not now be accomplished without great sacri- 
fice, and as the fort must be abandoned sooner or later, it 
appeared to him " that the sooner it be done, the better;" that 
if Fort Sumter was relieved by this plan we could not hold it. No 
practical benefit would result from an acceptance of the proposal, 
and that "the cause of humanity " and the highest obligation to 
the public interests required an acquiescence in the counsels sub- 
mitted. This important letter of the Secretary of War is given 
in full. 

"Executive Mansion, March 15, 1861. 
" The Honorable Secretary of War : 

" Aly Dear Sir : Assuming it to be possible to now provision 
Fort Sumter, under all the circumstances is it wise to attempt it? 
Please give me your opinion in writing on this question. 
" Your obedient servant, 

" A Lincoln." 
A/2S7e'er. 

*' In reply to the letter of inquiry addressed to me by the Pres- 
ident, whether, ' Assuming it to be possible now to provision Fort 
Sumter, under all the circumstances is it wise to attempt it ' ? I 
beg leave to say that it has received the careful consideration, in 
the limited time I could bestow upon it, which its very grave 
importance demands, and that my mind has been most reluctantly 
forced to the conclusion that it would be unwise now to make such 
an attempt. 

" In coming to this conclusion, I am free to say I am greatly 
influenced by the opinions of the Army ofificers who have expressed 
themselves on the subject, and who seem to concur that it is, per- 
haps, now impossible to succor that fort substantially, if at all, 



OPINION OF SECRETARY OF WAR. 



355 



without capturing, by means of a large expedition of ships of war 
and troops, all the opposing batteres of South Carolina. All the 
ofificers within Fort Sumter, together with Generals Scott and Tot- 
ten, express this opinion, and it would seem to me that the Presi- 
dent would not be justified to disregard such high authority with- 
out overruling considerations of public policy. 

" Major Anderson, in his report of the 28th ultimo, says: 

•' ' I confess that I would not be willing to risk my reputation on an attempt 
to throw reinforcements into this harbor within the time for our relief rendered 
necessary by the limited supply of our provisions, and with a view of holding 
possession of the same with a force of less than twenty thousand good and well- 
disciplined men.' 

'' In this opinion Major Anderson is substantially sustained 
by the reports of all the other officers within the fort, one of whom. 
Captain Seymour, speaks thus emphatically on the subject : 

" ' It is not more than possible to supply this fort by ruse with a few men 
or a small amount of provisions, such is the unceasing vigilance employed to 
prevent it. To do so openly by vessels alone, unless they are shot proof, is vir- 
tually impossible, so numerous and powerful are the opposing batteries. No 
vessel can lay near the fort without being exposed to continual fire, and the har- 
bor could, and probably would, whenever necessary, be effectually closed, as 
one channel has already been. A projected attack in large force would draw 
to this harbor all the available resources in men and material of the contiguous 
States. Batteries of guns of heavy calibre would be multiplied rapidly and in- 
definitely. At least 20,000 men, good marksmen, and trained for months past 
with a view to this very contingency, would be concentrated here before the 
attacking force could leave Northern ports. The harbor would be closed. A 
landing must be effected at some distance from our guns, which could give no 
aid. Charleston Harbor would be aSebastopol in such a conflict, and unlimited 
means would probably be required to ensure success, before which time the gar- 
rison of Fort Sumter would be starved out' 

" General Scott, in his reply to the question addressed to him 
by the President, on the 12th instant, < What amount of means and 
of what description, in addition to those already at command, 
would it require to supply and re-enforce the fort' ? says : 

"'I should need a fleet of war vessels and transports, which, in the scat- 
tered disposition of the Navy (as understood), could not be collected in less than 
four months; 5,000 additional regular troops and 20,000 volunteers; that is. a 
force sufficient to take all the batteries, both in the harbor (including Fort Moul- 
trie) as well as in the approach or outer bay. To raise, organize, and disci- 
pline such an army (not to speak of necessary legislation by Congress, not now 
in session) would require from six to eight months. As a practical military 
question, the time for succoring Fort Sumter with any means at hand has passed 
away nearly a month ago. Since then a surrender under assault or from starva- 
tion has been merely a question of time. ' 

** It is true there are those, whose opinions are entitled to 
respectful consideration, who entertain the belief that Fort Sum- 
ter could yet be succored to a limited extent without the employ- 
ment of the large army and naval forces believed to be necessary 
by the Army officers whose opinions I have already quoted. 

" Commander Ward, of the Navy, an officer of acknowledged 



356 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



merit, a month ago believed it to be practicable to supply the fort 
with men and provisions to a limited extent without the employment 
of any very large military or naval force. He then proposed to 
employ four or more small steamers belonging to the Coast Sur- 
vey to accomplish the purpose, and we have the opinion of Gen- 
eral Scott that he has no doubt that Captain Ward at that time 
would have succeeded with his proposed expedition, but was not 
allowed by the late President to attempt the execution of his plan. 
Now it is pronounced, from the change of circumstances, imprac- 
ticable by Major Anderson and all the other ofificers of the fort, 
as well as by Generals Scott and Totten, and in this opinion Com- 
mander Ward, after full consultation with the latter-named ofificers 
and the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, I understand now 
reluctantly concurs. 

" Mr. Fox, another gentleman of experience as a seaman, who, 
having formerly been engaged on the Coast Survey, is familiar 
with the waters of the Charleston Harbor, has proposed to make 
the attempt to supply the fort with cutters of light draught and 
large dimensions, and his proposal has in a measure been approved 
by Commodore Stringham, but he does not suppose or propose 
or profess to believe that provisions for more than one or two 
months could be furnished at a time. 

" There is no doubt whatever in my mind that when Major 
Anderson first took possession of Fort Sumter he could have 
been easily supplied with men and provisions, and that when Com- 
mander Ward, with the concurrence of General Scott, a month ago 
proposed his expedition he would have succeeded had he been 
allowed to attempt it, as I think he should have been. A different 
state of things now, however, exists. Fort Moultrie is now rearmed 
and strengthened in every way ; many new land batteries have 
been constructed ; the principal channel has been obstructed; 
in short, the difficulty of re-enforcing the fort has been increased 
ten if not twenty fold. 

'* Whatever might have been done as late as a month ago, it is 
too sadly evident that' it cannot now be done without the sacrifice 
of life and treasure not at all commensurate with the object to be 
attained ; and as the abandonment of the fort in a few weeks, 
sooner or later, appears to be an inevitable necessity, it seems to 
me that the sooner it be done the better, 

" The proposition presented by Mr. Fox, so sincerely enter- 
tained and ably advocated, would be entitled to my favorable 
consideration if, with all the light before me, and in the face of so 
many distinguished military authorities on the other side, I did 
not believe that the attempt to carry it into effect would initiate a 
bloody and protracted conflict. Should he succeed in relieving 
Fort Sumter, which is doubted by many of our most experienced 
soldiers and seamen, would that enable us to maintain our 
authority against the troops and fortifications of South Carolina ? 



OPINION OP SECRETARY OF WAR CONCLUDED. 



157 



Sumter could not now contend against these formidable adver- 
saries, if filled with provisions and men. That fortress was 
intended, as her position on the map will show, rather to repel an 
invading foe. It is equally clear, from repeated investigations and 
trials, that the range of her guns is too limited to reach the city of 
Charleston, if that were desirable. 

" No practical benefit will result to the country or the Govern- 
ment by accepting the proposal alluded to, and I am therefore of 
opinion that the cause of humanity and the highest obligation to 
the public interest would be best promoted by adopting the coun- 
sels of those brave and experienced men whose suggestions I have 
laid before you. 

[Indorsement. ] 

" There was a signed copy of the within placed in the hands 
of President Lincoln. 

" Simon Cameron. 
"March 17, 1861." 

A like opinion was expressed by the remaining members of the 
Cabinet, with the exception of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
Mr. Chase, and the Postmaster-General, Mr. Blair. 

The opinion of Mr. Blair was well known. He had urged the 
relief of Fort Sumter even before his entry into the Cabinet. He 
had induced his relative. Captain Fox, to come to Washington, in 
order that the President might consider the scheme for relief 
proposed by him; and now that he was a member of the newly 
formed administration, he neglected no opportunity to earnestly 
urge upon the President, both within and without the Cabinet, the 
propriety and the necessity of immediate action in accordance 
with the convictions he held. When, therefore, he received the 
inquiry of the President, he was at once prepared to respond to 
it, which he did upon the same day. 

The Postmaster-General belonged to that school of Democrats 
of which President Jackson was the great exponent, when he 
declared, in defiance of the Nullification doctrines of South 
Carolina, that "the Union must and shall be preserved." His 
father, Francis P. Blair, was the intimate friend and counsellor 
of President Jackson, and of Martin Van Buren, his successor in 
office, and, as the controller of an official journal, was the 
accredited mouth-piece of their administration in the dissemina- 
tion of their peculiar views, which became a school in contra- 
distinction to the teachings of Jefferson, and whose disciples, as 
war Democrats, fought for the Union of the States. 



358 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

In the reply to the President he at once announced himself as 
in favor of provisioning Fort Sumter, and in a resume of the 
considerations involved, he urged that the " rebellion " had been 
" enabled to attain its present proportions " only through " the 
connivance of the late administration; " that nothing had been 
done to check its growth or progress, or to prevent its recognition, 
" either at home or abroad, as a successful revolution;" that it 
had been treated practically as a lawful proceeding, and that even 
the Union-loving people must come to regard it as a rightful 
Government. He thought that it was proper to exercise the 
powers of the Government, only so far as to maintain its 
authority over the revenue, and hold possession of the public 
property, and that this should be done with as little bloodshed as 
possible; that the power and firmness of the Government must 
be exercised, as was done in 1833 ; that not alone upon Mr. 
Buchanan's weakness the rebels relied for success, but upon the 
belief they entertained that " Northern men were deficient in the 
courage necessary to maintain the Government." " The evacu- 
ation of Fort Sumter, when it is known that it can be provisioned 
and manned, will convince the rebels that the administration 
lacks firmness," will embolden them, and would not only fail 
to prevent collision, but would ensure it, unless all of the other 
forts are given up. Buchanan's policy had " rendered collision 
almost inevitable," and a continuance of it would go far to 
produce a permanent division of the Union. " Fort Sumter 
may be provisioned and relieved by Captain Fox with little risk." 
The rebelhon would be demoralized, and a reactionary movement 
throughout the South would follow which would speedily ''over- 
whelm the traitors," and whether the enterprise should succeed or 
not, those who directed it would receive honor from the President, 
as well as " from the lovers of free government in all lands." 
His response was as follows : 

" Post Office Department, 
"Washington, March 15, 1861. 
" To the President. 

" Sir : In reply to your interrogatory whether in my opinion 
it is wise to provision Fort Sumter under present circumstances, 
I submit the following considerations in favor of provisioning that 
fort. 

" The ambitious leaders of the late Democratic party have 
availed themselves of the disappointment attendant upon defeat 



OPINION OF POSTMASTER-GENERAL. 



359 



in the late presidential election to found a military government 
in the seceding States. 

" To the connivance of the late administration, it is due alone 
that this rebellion has been enabled to attain its present pro- 
portions. 

"It has grown by this complicity into the form of an organ- 
ized government in seven States, and up to this moment nothing 
has been done to check its progress or prevent its being regarded 
either at home or abroad as a successful revolution. 

" Every hour of acquiescence in this condition of things, and 
especially every new conquest made by the rebels, strengthens 
their hands at home and their claim to recognition as an inde- 
pendent people abroad. 

"It has from the beginning, and still is treated practically as 
a lawful proceeding, and the honest and Union-loving people in 
those States must by a continuance of this policy become recon- 
ciled to the new Government, and, though founded in wrong, 
come to regard it as rightful government. 

" I, in common with all my associates in your council, agree 
that we must look to the people of these States for the overthrow 
of this rebellion, and that it is proper to exercise the powers of 
the Federal Government only so far as to maintain its authority 
to collect the revenue and maintain possession of the public 
property in the States; and that this should be done with as little 
bloodshed as possible. How is this to be carried into effect? 
That it is by measures which will inspire respect for the power of 
the Government, and the firmness of those who administer it, 
does not admit of debate. 

"It is obvious that rebellion was checked in 1833 by the 
promptitude of the President in taking measures which made it 
manifest that it could not be attempted with impunity, and that 
it has grown to its present formidable proportions only because 
similar measures were not taken. 

" The action of the President in 1833 inspired respect, whilst 
in i860 the rebels were encouraged by the contempt they felt for 
the incumbent of the Presidency. 

"But it was not alone upon Mr. Buchanan's weakness the 
rebels relied for success. 

" They for the most part believe that the Northern men are 
deficient in the courage necessary to maintain the Government. 

"It is this prevalent error in the South which induces so large 
a portion of the people there to suspect the good faith of the 
people of the North, and enables the demagogues so successfully 
to inculcate the notion that the object of the Northern people is 
to abolish slavery, and make the negroes the equals of the whites. 

" Doubting the manhood of Northern men, they discredit 
their disclaimers of this purpose to humiliate and injure them. 
Nothing would so surely gain credit for such disclaimers as the 



360 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

manifestation of resolution on the part of the President to main- 
tain the lawful authority of the nation. No men or people have 
so many difficulties as those whose firmness is doubted. 

" The evacuation of Fort Sumter, when it is known that it can 
be provisioned and manned, will convince the rebels that the 
administration lacks firmness, and will therefore tend, more than 
any event that has happened, to embolden them; and so far from 
tending to prevent collision, will ensure it unless all the other forts 
are evacuated and all attempts are given up to maintain the author- 
ity of the United States. 

" Mr. Buchanan's policy has, I think, rendered collision almost 
inevitable, and a continuance of that policy will not only bring it 
about, but will go far to produce a permanent division, of the 
Union. 

" This is manifestly the public judgment, which is much 
more to be relied on than that of any individual. I believe that 
Fort Sumter may be provisioned and relieved by Captain Fox with 
little risk; and General Scott's opinion that, with its war comple- 
ment, there is no force in South Carolina which can take it, ren- 
ders it almost certain that it will not then be attempted. 

*' This would completely demoralize the rebellion. The impo- 
tent rage of the rebels and the outburst of patriotic feeling which 
would follow this achievement, would initiate a reactionary move- 
ment throughout the South which would speedily overwhelm the 
traitors. No expense or care should therefore be spared to 
achieve this success. The appreciation of our stocks will pay for 
the most lavish outlay to make it one. Nor will the result be 
materially different to the nation if the attempt fails and its gallant 
leader and followers are lost. It will in any event vindicate the 
hardy courage of the North, and the determination of the people 
and their President to maintain the authority of the Government, 
and this is all that is wanting, in my judgment, to restore it. 

" You should give no thought for the commander and his 
comrades in this enterprise. They willingly take the hazard for 
the sake of the country, and the honor which, successful or not, 
they will receive from you and the lovers of free Government in 
all lands. 

*< I am, sir, very respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" M. Blair." 

Mr. Chase was equally in favor of some attempt being made 
to relieve Fort Sumter, although he was not now, nor had he 
previously been, decided in his expressions to that effect. His 
opinion was as follows: 

Treasury Department, March 16, 1861. 

'■'■Sir: The following question was submitted to my consider- 
ation, by your note of yesterday. 



CHIEF ENGINEER DISCUSSED ''PLANS.' 



361 



" 'Assuming it to be possible to novv provision Fort Sumter, 
under all the circumstances is it wise to attempt it '? 

" I have given to this question all the reflection which the 
engrossing duties of this department have allowed. 

" A correct solution must depend, in my judgment, on the 
degree of possibility; on the combination of reinforcement with 
provisioning; and on the probable effects of the measure upon the 
relations of the disaffected States to the National Government. 

" I shall assume what the statements of the distinguished 
officers consulted seem to warrant — that the possibility of success 
amounts to a reasonable degree of probability; and, also, that the 
attempt to provision is to include an attempt to reinforcement, 
for it seems to be generally agreed that provisioning without rein- 
forcement will accomplish no substantially beneficial purpose. 

" The probable political effects of the measure allow room for 
much fair difference of opinion, and I have not reached my own 
conclusion without serious difficulty. 

" If the proposed enterprise will so influence civil war as to 
involve an immediate necessity for the enlistment of armies and 
the expenditure of millions, I cannot, in the existing circum- 
stances of the country, and in the present condition of the 
national finances, advise it. But it seems to me highly improb- 
able that the attempt, especially if accompanied or immediately 
followed by a proclamation setting forth a liberal and generous, 
though firm, policy toward the disaffected States, in accordance 
with the principles of the inaugural address, will produce such 
consequences; while it cannot be doubted that, in maintaining a 
fort belonging to the United States, and in supporting the officers 
and men engaged, in the regular course of service, in its defense, 
the Federal Government exercises a clear right and, under all 
ordinary circumstances, discharges a plain duty. 

" I return, therefore, an affirmative answer to the question sub- 
mitted to me. And have the honor to be, 

" With the highest respect, your obedient servant. 

"S. P. Chase. 

"To the President." 

At this meeting of the 15th the plan of Captain Fox was ago in 
discussed by General Totten, the Chief Engineer, in the pres- 
ence of the President and his Cabinet, Captain Fox and Commo- 
dore Stringham, of the Navy, and General Scott. In the paper 
presented. General Totten discussed the several plans proposed 
for the relief of the fort — the entrance into the harbor by a 
squadron of war vessels in daylight — was condemned, both on 
account of the concentrated fire of the batteries and the total 
want of shelter, while small vessels would inevitably be destroyed, 
from the proficiency attained by practice with the batteries, as 



362 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

well as the vigilance displayed in guarding the harbor. The 
employment of a few fast tugs to enter the Swash Channel by 
night was also considered by General Totten, who thought that 
although these tugs might pass the batteries without great risk, 
and that perhaps all of them might reach Fort Sumter, they must 
have light to take their bearings, and that in consequence they 
would be seen and would be intercepted by the steamers " lying 
in the channel -way full of men." He thought, too, that it would 
be "unreasonable to suppose" that this plan had not been 
anticipated and provided for,* and that it like any other, would 
inevitably involve a collision. 

In reply, however, to this opinion of General Totten, it was 
claimed by Captain Fox that all he had urged was admitted by 
General Totten, and that the question of entrance into the harbor 
was a naval question solely. The opinion furnished by General 
Scott to the Secretary of War as a " Memorandum " was enclosed 
by the Secretary in his reply to the President. At this period, 
the views of General Scott naturally carried great weight, and 
upon such a subject his opinion was deemed by many as 
decisive. It was believed that he had been thwarted by the 
previous administration in his patriotic intentions, and his opinions 
ignored, and it was the whole desire of the present administration 
to accord to his counsels that respect and acquiescence which his 
high character and prominent position warranted. His relations 
to the Secretary of State, who had sustained him in his aspirations 
for the presidency, were close and cordial, as they had ever been, 
and his political views were largely influenced by those of the 
Secretary. When, therefore, the moment came for an expression 
of opinion upon the part of General Scott as to the final action of 
the administration in the case of Fort Sumter, the General was 
not only in accord with the views of the Secretary, but even far 
beyond them. In his " Memorandum " to the Secretary of War, 
the impossibility of succoring the fort without carrying the 
batteries around it, an opinion in which he and General Totten 
concurred, was stated. Even if the expedition in small tugs 
prepared by Captain Fox should succeed once, the necessity of 



* This opinion was confirmed by General Beauregard in a conversation with 
the author in New York, March, 1882. This plan of relief had been antici- 
pated by the military authorities at Charleston, and such provision made to 
meet it that its success was pronounced by him impossible. 



MEMO RAND UM OF GENERAL SCO TT. 363 

its repetition would recur; and he concludes that an abandonment 
of the fort in a few weeks, sooner or later, would appear therefore 
to be a sure necessity, and if so, the sooner the more graceful on 
the part of the Government. The paper submitted to the Sec- 
retary of War by General Scott is here given: 

" General Scott's Memorandum for the Secretary of War. 

" It seems, from the opinions of the Army officers who have 
expressed themselves on the subject — all within Fort Sumter, 
together with Generals Scott and Totten — that it is perhaps now 
impossible to succor that fort substantially, if at all, without 
capturing, by means of a large expedition of ships of war and 
troops, all the opposing batteries of South Carolina. In the mean- 
time — six or ten months — Major Anderson would almost certainly 
have been obliged to surrender under assault or the approach of 
starvation ; for even if an expedition like that proposed by 
G. V. Fox should succeed once in throwing in the succor of a few 
men and a few weeks' provision, the necessity of repeating the 
latter supply would return again and again, including the yellow- 
fever season. An abandonment of the fort in a few weeks sooner 
or later would appear, therefore, to be a sure necessity, and if so, 
the sooner the more graceful on the part of the Government. 

"It is doubtful, however, according to recent information from 
the South, whether the voluntary evacuation of Fort Sumter alone 
would have a decisive effect upon the States now wavering between 
adherence to the Union and secession. It is known, indeed, that 
it would be charged to necessity, and the holding of Fort Pickens 
would be adduced in support of that view. Our Southern friends, 
however, are clear that the evacuation of both the forts would 
instantly soothe and give confidence to the eight remaining slave- 
holding States, and render their cordial adherence to this Union 
perpetual. 

" The holding of Forts Jefferson and Taylor, on the ocean 
keys, depends on entirely different principles, and should never be 
abandoned; and, indeed, the giving up of Forts Sumter and Pickens 
may be best justified by the hope that we should thereby recover 
the State to which they geographically belong by the liberality of 
the act, besides retaining the eight doubtful States." 

This Memorandum of General Scott was written upon the day 
fixed for the final action on the question as to whether supplies 
should be sent. The General was under the impression that the 
evacuation of Fort Sumter had been determined upon by the 
President, and he had also recommended the evacuation of Fort 
Pickens. Contrary to the expectation of the President, the ques- 
tion was not decided at the Cabinet meeting of the 15th, when 



3^4 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



some only of the opinions were presented and a discussion took 
place. 

All of the members of the Cabinet agreed substantially in 
the views expressed by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
War, except the Postmaster-General and the Secretary of the 
Treasury, as has just been seen. Their opinions were in writing, 
and were handed to the President. No formal decision by vote 
was made, as such proceeding was unusual in Cabinet consulta- 
tions, the decision being always left to the President alone. Al- 
though the majority of his Cabinet were decided in their opinion 
as to the policy to be pursued, which was against the attempt to 
relieve Fort Sumter, its effect upon the President was advisory 
only, and his ultimate decision, influenced as it was by subsequent 
circumstances, was adverse to it. After the Cabinet had separated, 
the Postmaster-General, Mr Blair sought an interview with his 
father, the venerable Francis P. Blair, to whom he related the 
circumstances of the meeting, and what he inferred was the decision 
arrived at. Mr. Blair at once sought the President, with whom he 
was upon terms of intimacy. He found him yet in his place in 
the Cabinet room, and engaged in securing the written opinions of 
the members of his Cabinet just handed to him. He was at once 
asked by Mr. Blair if it had been determined to withdraw Anderson 
from Sumter. The President replied that it had not yet been fully 
determined upon, but that the Cabinet were almost a unit in favor 
of it, " all except your son," said he, and that he thought that such 
would be the result. Mr. Blair then expressed his belief that 
such a course would not be endorsed by the people, that it would 
destroy the formation of the Republican party, and that impeach- 
ment would probably follow * Upon subsequent occasions Mr. 
Blair repeated the statement, and always affirmed that his son the 
Postmaster- General was the only member of Mr. Lincoln's Cab- 
inet who opposed the withdrawal of the garrison from Fort Sumter. 
The Postmaster-General himself was under the same impression, 
and frequently asserted it as the statement of Mr. Lincoln to him, 
and it was so believed in the country. 

The subject of relief to Fort Sumter was now a constant 
source of discussion both within and without the Cabinet, while 
the impression became general that, with the exception of the 



* Mr. Blair to author. 



PRIVATE LETTER OF POSTMASTER-GENERAL. 365 

Postmaster-General, the entire Cabinet, yielding to the views of 
the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, and influenced by the military 
counsel of Lieutenant-General Scott, was averse to any attempt 
to succor the fort under the then existing circumstances, and this 
gave rise to great feeling in the country. Mr. Blair himself was 
open in his expression and decided in his course; and in a letter 
to the writer, of the 6th of May, 1882, he has given so clear and 
detailed an account of what took place, and of his personal rela- 
tion '"•^ it, that it is here given in his own language. 

*' You -ill see," said he, "by Mr. Seward's letter to Mr. Adams 
of April 10, 1 86 1,* that he considered the Union dissolved at 
that time, and contemplated, at some future time, the call of a con- 
vention to bring about reunion. For this reason he opposed the 
use of force to retain possession of the fort. He thought this 
would engender bad blood, and prove an obstacle to his plan of 
a peaceful return of the States, which he regarded as the only 

practicable mode of securing reunion. 

******* 

" General Scott, in the belief that the surrender of Fort Sumter 
had been determined upon, wrote to the President that it was neces- 
sary to surrender Fort Pickens also. 

" This letter was written on the day fixed for the final action on 
the question, whether Sumter should be surrendered. But con- 
trary to the President's previous intention, he did not decide the 
question at the Cabinet meeting that day. After dinner the Presi- 
dent called the members out of the room where he had dined 
with them, and in an agitated manner read Scott's letter, which he 
seemed just to have received. An oppressive silence followed. 
At last I said, " Mr. President you can now see that General 
Scott, in advising the surrender of Fort Sumter, is playing the part 
of a politician, not of a general, for as no one pretends that there 
is any military necessity for the surrender of Fort Pickens, which 
he now says it is equally necessary to surrender, it is believed 
that he is governed by political reasons in both recommendations. 

" No answer could be made to this point, and the President saw 
that he was misled, and immediately ordered the reinforcement 
of Fort Sumter. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance 
and merit of this act. It was an irrevocable decision that the 



* " Diplomatic Correspondence of 186 1,'' p. 58. 



366 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Union should be maintained by force of arms. It was assuming 
the greatest responsibility ever assumed by any man, and it was 
assumed by Lincoln with only the support of a single member of 
the Cabinet, and he represented no State, and was the youngest and 
least distinguished member; and he was opposed by all the others, 
who were the leaders of the Republican party, and the representa- 
tive men of the great Republican States. Lincoln himself was 
inexperienced, and those who opposed the stand he took had 
not only great experience in public affairs, but they were 
regarded by Lincoln himself as his superiors. That he should 
resolve to stand by his convictions of duty against all these 
influences ought, and I believe will, crown him with immortal 
honor." 

The replies given by the different members of the Cabinet to 
the President's inquiry in regard to Fort Sumter gave rise to 
much discussion and speculation. The Secretary of the Treasur}^, 
Mr. Chase, in order " to correct misapprehensions," as early as 
the 28th of April, 1861, after Fort Sumter had been fired upon 
and taken, addressed a letter to the Hon. Alphonso Taft. 

In this he not only defined his position in regard to the relief 
of Sumter at that time, but so clearly and forcibly set forth the 
views that animated him that the communication is given entire. 

"Washington, April 28, 1861. 

" My Dear Sir : To correct misapprehensions, except by acts, 
is an almost vain endeavor. You may say, however, to all whom 
it may concern, that there is no ground for the ascription to me 
by Major Brown of the sentiment to which you allude. 

*' True it is that before the assault on Fort Sumter, in anti- 
cipation of an attempt to provision famishing soldiers of the Union, 
I was decidedly in favor of a positive policy and against the 
notion of drifting — the Micawber policy of * waiting for some- 
thing to turn up.' 

"As a positive policy, two alternatives were plainly before us. 
(i) That of enforcing the laws of the Union by its whole power 
and through its whole extent; or (2) that of recognizing the organi- 
zation of actual government by the seven seceded States as an 
accomplished revolution — accomplished through the complicity 
of the late administration and letting the Confederacy try its 
experiment of separation ; but maintaining the authority of the 
Union and treating secession as treason everywhere else. 

"Knowing that the former of these alternatives involved 
destructive war, and vast expenditure, and oppressive debt, and 
thinking it possible that through the latter these great evils might 



LE TTERS OF SEC RE TAR Y OF THE TREASUR Y. 367 

be avoided, the union of the other States preserved unbroken, the 
return even of the seceded States, after an unsatisfactory experi- 
ment of separation, secured, and the great cause of freedom and 
constitutional government peacefully vindicated — thinking, I say, 
these things possible, I preferred the latter alternative. 

" The attack on Fort Sumter, however, and the precipitation 
of Virginia into hostility to the National Government, made this 
latter alternative impracticable, and I had then no hesitation about 
recurring to the former. Of course, I insist on the most vigorous 
measures, not merely for the preservation of the Union and the 
defense of the Government, but for the constitutional re-estab- 
lishment of the full authority of both throughout the land. 

"In laboring for these objects I know hardly the least ces- 
sation, and begin to feel the wear as well as the strain of them. 
When my criticizers equal me in labor and zeal, I shall most cheer- 
fully listen to their criticisms. 

*< All is safe here now. Baltimore is repenting, and by repent- 
ance may be saved, if she adds works meet for repentance. Soon 
something else will be heard of. 

"Yours truly, 

" S. P. Chase. 

" Hon. Alphonso Taft." 

Years passed without correcting the impression which pre- 
vailed, when his attention was called to it in a letter to him from 
Judge J. S. Black, to whom he replied on the 4th of July, 1870, 
as follows ; 

" On one other point I wish to correct your information, lest 
not mentioning it I may seem to have admitted its exactitude. 

'' You state that * the Cabinet (Mr. Lincoln's) voted six to one 
iji favor of surrendering Fort Sumter, Mr. Blair being the only 
dissentient.' I never voted for the surrender of Fort Sumter. My 
grounds of opposition were not perhaps the same, nor so absolute 
as Mr. Blair's, but I was against it, and so voted. I make this 
statement, not for the public, but for yourself, because I was in a 
position to be well informed, and am sure you would not willingly 
remain in error. Before all things, justice. 

" With great respect and regard, 
** Yours very truly, 
(Signed) " S. P. Chase." 

The strong endorsement of General Scott had also produced 
its effect upon the Secretary of War, Mr. Cameron, who, up to the 
moment when the " Views " of Lieutenant-General Scott were read 
to the Cabinet by the President, had been against any attempt to 
relieve the fort as " too late." He now changed his mind, and 



368 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

became an advocate of the relief of the work, and so argued upon 
the final disposition of the subject by the Cabinet of Mr. Lincoln. 

Among those present on the evening when the question in re- 
gard to Fort Sumter was determined, was Mr. George Harring- 
ton, then Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, who, in his record- 
ed reminiscences, says, " I was at the White House one evening, 
and found there with the President Mr. Welles, Mr. Fox and Mr. 
Montgomery Blair, and ere they separated it was determined to 
relieve and provision Fort Sumter. I went to Mr. Seward and 
informed him of the fact, which, though, as he said, ' difficult to 
believe,' he subsequently found to be true."* 

It would seem, however, from the subsequent statement of 
the President, in his message to Congress at the extra session of 
July, 1 86 1, that he was brought to this conclusion and action 
mainly by the intelligence, just received, that " under the quasi 
armistice of the late administration " the company on board the 
Sabine had not been landed at Fort Pickens, as he had anticipat- 
ed and directed, as will be fully narrated in a subsequent chapter. 



" Harrington's Reminiscences." 



CHAPTER XXyill. 

President desires further information fi-om Major Anderson — Captain Fox sent 
as messenger — Arrives at Sumter— His interview with Anderson— State- 
ment of provisions given to him — Visit of Ward H. Lamon— Professed ob- 
ject, removal of command —Provisions being rapidly exhausted — Anderson 
asks instructions— Firing of batteries upon ice schooner attempting to 
enter harbor —Anderson sends an officer to Governor — Result — Important 
despatch of Commissioner Crawford —Anderson writes to Washington — 
Despondent feeling — Important communication of Secretary of War- 
Powerful battery suddenly unmasked on Sullivan's Island —Effect upon 
Anderson —Captain Fox accused of breach of faith— Charleston authorities 
seize the mails— Important despatch of Anderson taken— His letter. 

After the important meeting of the Cabinet on the 15th of 
March, and before taking any positive steps, the President deter- 
mined to obtain further information from Major Anderson him- 
self. Accordingly, a communication was addressed to Lieuten- 
ant-General Scott on the 19th of March by the Secretary of War, 
requesting him to direct some suitable and competent person to 
proceed to Fort Sumter and to obtain " accurate information in 
regard to the command of Major Anderson." Upon being sent 
to Lieutenant-General Scott, he endorsed upon it, " The within 
may do good, and can do no harm. It commits no one." Cap- 
tain G. V. Fox was the envoy selected by General Scott, and his 
selection was approved by the President. On the same day he 
left Washington for Charleston, arriving on the morning of the 
2 1 St of March. 

On the morning of this day Dr. Robinson, of Charleston, had 
come to the fort on a mission to Major Anderson. He reported 
that a telegram authorizing the rem(jval of the garrison had al- 
ready come to Charleston, and he brought a message from the Gov- 
ernor that, while he was unwilling to trust the Cabinet at Wash- 
ington, he had confidence in Major Anderson, who had never 
deceived him, and that he might leave as he saw fit; that Major 
Anderson had done right in all his course. Upon arriving at 
Charleston, Captam Fox sought an interview with Captain Hart- 
stene, an old comrade — a native of South Carolina, formerly of the 

369 



370 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



United States Navy — who had now entered the service of his 
State. To him he expressed his desire to visit Fort Sumter, in 
order to learn the actual condition of its command and to inquire 
into the state of the provisions. After a consultation with Gov- 
ernor Pickens, which lasted half an hour. Captain Hartstene, 
accompanied by Captain Fox, waited upon the Governor, who 
received him, and at once asked for the orders under which he 
acted. Captain Fox replied that he had no written orders, but 
showed to him the letter of General Scott, and informed the Gov- 
ernor of his purpose to ascertain the state of Major Anderson's 
provisions and the actual condition of his command. The con- 
versation closed by an inference, upon the part of Governor 
Pickens, that the object of the visit was a peaceful one, in which 
Captain Fox acquiesced.^ After some delay, Captain Hartstene 
was directed to accompany Captain Fox to Fort Sumter. They 
left at once and arrived at the fort after dark, where they were 
met by Major Anderson and some of his officers. Captain Fox 
was the bearer of three letters to Major Anderson, who showed 
them to the writer in confidence. One of these was a letter 
from General Scott to the Secretary of War, Mr. Holt, mention- 
ing the services of Major Anderson, and stating that he was only 
the interpreter of the wishes of thousands when he expressed the 
desire that he should be suitably rewarded; and he recommends 
that a brevet of lieutenant-colonel be conferred upon him for 
moving his command from Fort Moultrie to Sumter; and for 
maintaining his position there, " aside of privation," in the face 
of a numerous and powerful force, he recommends him for a 
brevet of colonel. 

The second letter was from the Secretarry of War, Mr. 
Cameron, to Lieutenant-General Scott, stating the desire of the 
President for accurate information in regard to Anderson and his 
command, and directing that a special messenger should be sent 
at once. The remaining letter was from Governor Pickens to 
Major Anderson, stating that he had permitted Captain Fox and 
Captain Hartstene to go down to the fort, and he regretted that 
General Scott could not have been more formal with him, but 
that he trusted to Major Anderson as a man of honor. The 
visit of Captain Fox was short. After a general conversation in 



* Captain Fox to author. 



CAPTAIN FOX A T FORT SUMTER. 



2>7i 



the room of the officer of the guard, at the sally-port of the work, 
Major Anderson moved off in company with Captain Fox, leav- 
ing Captain Hartstene in conversation with his officers. It was 
now dark; when they reached the parapet Major Anderson turned 
the conversation upon his position, and knowing that the author 
of the proposed scheme for his relief was before him, he at once 
earnestly condemned any proposal to send him reinforcements. 
He asserted that it was too late; he agreed with General Scott 
that an entrance by sea was impossible; and he impressed upon 
Captain Fox his belief that any reinforcements coming would at 
once precipitate a collision and inaugurate civil war, and to this 
he manifested the most earnest opposition, and dwelt at length 
upon the political results that would follow. 

It was while engaged in this conversation, begun and main- 
tained chiefly by Major Anderson himself, that the sound of oars 
was heard close to the work while no boat was visible The 
entire feasibility of the plan of relief by boats, seemed to be con- 
firmed by this incident, and the attention of Major Anderson was 
drawn to it by Captain Fox, who showed to him that, screened by 
the darkness, it would be impossible to fire upon the boats with any 
accuracy. A point at the pancoupe on the left flank of the work, 
where a landing might take place, was pointed out by Captain Fox. 

But it was urged by Major Anderson that the naval prepara- 
tions at the mouth of the harbor would prevent the tugs and 
boats from reaching him, when Captain Fox replied that his bar- 
bette guns would be sufficient to keep the channel open. So 
impressed was Captain Fox by the manner and arguments of 
Major Anderson, that he did not lay before him what he might 
otherwise have done, and he was conscious of no obligation on 
his part which would prevent his giving him all the information in 
his possession that affected his position. No proposal was made 
or discussed, or arrangement made for relieving the work, nor did 
Captain Fox refer Major Anderson again to his plan, now known 
to him; and while the object of his visit was to obtain more 
accurate knowledge for the President, there was in addition a 
strong personal reason, and which largely influenced him in 
making it. He had not before been in those waters, and the 
constant reference to that fact by those members of the Cabinet 
who opposed the sending of relief, strongly influenced him to 
visit the work and by personal observation do away with such 



372 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



objection. The President had not yet made up his mind to 
relieve the fort, the whole matter was in abeyance; nor was Cap- 
tain Fox authorized to give Major Anderson to understand that 
reinforcements would probably be sent to him. Still less was it 
his purpose to arrange a plan with Major Anderson for his relief. 
The scheme long before proposed by him had been discussed 
openly in the public press, as well as by Major Anderson and his 
officers in the fort, to whom Lieutenant Hall upon his return 
from Washington had brought the report of the discussion of this 
plan in the presence of General Scott on the 6th of February. It 
was the plan of relief most feared by the South Carolina authori- 
ties. " The danger to be feared," said Major-General Bonham, 
afterwards Governor of South Carolina, " is that light-draught 
vessels, barges or boats in the night may be sent in through the 
two middle channels; " and General Beauregard had, on April 
lo, officially informed the commanding officer on Sullivan's 
Island, that Captain Hartstene and the naval officers were of 
opinion that boats could pass the batteries on a dark night. 

The visit of Captain Fox was short; a statement of the pro- 
visions on hand was furnished to him, and it was understood 
between himself and Major Anderson that unless provisions were 
furnished to him, he could not hold his position beyond the 15th 
of April at noon, even if he should at once place his command 
on short rations, and for this he should await the orders of his 
Government. 

Before leaving. Major Anderson desired that Captain Fox 
should converse with one of the engineer officers. He declined 
to bring him to Captain Foster, as his relations with that officer 
were not cordial, and he suggested Lieutenant Snyder. While 
in conversation with that officer. Captain Foster came up and 
made a rapid statement of his work, saying that he was doing all 
in his power to strengthen the fort without instructions from Major 
Anderson, who, although he acquiesced, did not encourage him.*t 



* Upon his return to Charleston, Captain Fox held a short conversation 
with General Beauregard, who was not present at his interview with the Gover- 
nor, or indeed in Charleston, before he went to the fort. The interview was 
unimportant, as Captain Fox had accomplished his visit. In a conversation with 
Captain Hartstene, General Beauregard asked "Were you with Captain Fox all 
the time of his visit ?" " All but a short period, when he was with Major Ander- 
son," replied Captain Hartstene "I fear that we shall have occasion to regret 
that short period," said General Beauregard. (Beauregard to aiithor, N. Y., 
March, 1882.) 

\ Fox to author. 



REPORTED WITHDRAWAL GF GARRISON. 373 

The visit of Captain Fox was made the subject of a communi- 
cation to his Government by Major Anderson, who in reporting 
his visit informed the Department that he had examined the point 
alluded to by him, as a proper landing-place for supplies, and had 
found that a vessel lying there would be under the fire of thirteen 
guns from Fort Moultrie; and he gives the opinion of his engineer 
officer also, that at that point she would require at high tide a 
staging of forty feet, and he submitted that the Department could 
thus decide what chances there were of a safe debarkation and 
unloading at that point. The impression produced upon Major 
Anderson was that this idea, " merely hinted at " to him by Captain 
Fox, would not be carried out. Upon the conclusion of his visit, 
which lasted but little over an hour, Captain Fox returned to 
Washington that night. 

Every hour now tended to strengthen the belief that the 
garrison was to be withdrawn, and the prelimmary steps to be 
taken were considered upon both sides. The public press as well 
as private advices from Washington all seemed to place the fact 
of the withdrawal beyond doubt. The engineer officer had made 
his arrangements, and had reported to his chief his intentions, and 
had received from that official his instructions as to the disposi- 
tion to be made of the property. He was to bring away his books 
and drawings, and, if it were possible, to secure the heavy articles 
of property. The hospital supplies were also packed up except 
such as were needed for immediate use. But official action on 
the subject was wanting, and the month of March closed leaving the 
matter still undecided, although the positive conviction, both 
within and without Fort Sumter, was that it would be evacuated. 
So confidently was the change anticipated, that on the 29th of 
March Major Anderson stated that the Government preferred 
that the transportation necessary should be procured in Charleston. 
Time passed without any change, when on the morning of the 25 th 
a steamer bearing a white flag was seen approaching the work. 
She bore Colonel Ward H. Lamon, of Washington, who, accom- 
panied by Colonel Duryea, of the Governor's staff, had been per- 
mitted by Governor Pickens to visit Major Anderson. Colonel 
Lamon had been for some time in Charleston, where he had regis- 
tered himself from Virginia, and the public journals had announced 
his presence as connected with postal matters. He finally sought 
an interview with the Governor, as a "confidential agent of the 



374 ^-^^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

President," and informed him that he had come for the purpose 
of arranging for the removal of the garrison.* He had been 
courteously received by the Governor, who, under the escort of 
one of his aides, had sent him to Major Anderson, with whom he 
remained alone for an hour and a half. Upon the character of 
the interview Major Anderson was silent, although he informed 
the writer that he " would be amused at the confidential communi- 
cations of the messenger." The impression produced upon 
Major Anderson, as well as upon the officers and men of the 
garrison, was that the command was to be withdrawn. 

Upon his return to Charleston, Colonel Lamon inquired of the 
Governor if a war vessel could not be allowed to remove the 
garrison. He was answered that " no war vessel could be allowed 
to enter the harbor on any terms." He then informed the Gover- 
nor that Major Anderson preferred an ordinary steamer, to which 
the Governor agreed. He also told him that the President pro- 
fessed a desire to evacuate the work. Upon his return to Wash- 
ington he wrote to Governor Pickens that he hoped to return in a 
very few days to withdraw the command. 

The month of March was now drawing to its close, and to the 
occupants of Fort Sumter there seemed to be a suspension of the 
work hitherto pushed with such activity around them. The guns 
and material landed on the beach near Cummings Point remained 
for some days undisturbed, and there seemed to be a cessation of 
the work on the mortar battery at Fort Johnson. Within the work, 
the engineer operations were confined "to the collection and 
counting of materials, the clearing of the parade of the stone slabs 
and temporary structures that encumbered it, and in perfecting the 
arrangements of the batteries of the first and third tier." On the 
31st of March, the provisions of the engineer force being exhaus- 
ted, it was proposed to discharge all of the laborers except 
enough to man one of the boats. The armament and condition 
of the fort, the supply of provisions, the number and extent of 
the batteries and works around him, as far as could be ascertained 
by him, as well as a careful estimate of the force necessary, in the 
judgment of himself and his officers, to relieve the work, had 
been communicated to Washington by Major Anderson, who, con- 
firmed in his anticipations by the visit and statements of Lamon, 



* Governor's Message, November, 1861. 



BA TTERIES FIRE UPON AN ICE SCHOONER. 



75 



as well as by the reports and statements of the public prunts and 
the telegrams of the Commissioner, looked forward to his promised 
return and to the immediate withdrawal of his command. But 
the days passed without any ofificial action in regard to such 
determination, and his position became daily more embarrassing. 
There were constantly recurring causes of irritability if not of 
danger. 

It was now the ist of April, and he had reported everything 
quiet around him. He had not made frequent mention of the 
question of rations, as he had kept the Department fully informed 
of the state of his supplies, and on the 27th of January a 
detailed statement had been sent on," from which any one in the 
Commissary Department could have told the exact amount on 
hand at any given time." Meantime, positive orders had come 
from Montgomery that no one should be permitted to leave Fort 
Sumter, unless all went. This rendered it necessary to turn over 
to the Engineer Department provisions for the use of their men, 
which greatly reduced the amount on hand. Had the laborers 
been permitted to leave the fort, the amount of rations on hand 
would have been sufficient to last one week from April i. On 
the 3d notice was sent to him by the authorities at Charleston 
that certain minor articles he required could not be permitted to 
go to him, and he feared that the intention was to stop his sup- 
plies altogether; and he earnestly asks for instructions as to his 
course when his provisions were exhausted, as his bread would 
last but four or five days longer. On the same day the garrison 
was startled by the sound of firing from the batteries bearing 
upon the entrance into the harbor. A small schooner, mistaking the 
harbor for that of Savannah, had attempted to enter, having failed 
to secure a pilot. She had crossed the bar and was coming up 
the harbor, and was passing Morris Island, when a shot was fired 
across her bow. She at once ran the United States flag to her 
peak, when two more shots were fired across her bow, and stand- 
ing on her course, the batteries in range opened on her. The 
firing was wild and unskillful, and continued while she was in 
range. One shot only went through her mainsail above the boom, 
when she turned, lowered her flag, and went out to the bar. 
Within the fort the greatest excitement prevailed. The long roll 
was beaten, and the men manned the guns ; the battery in the 
northeast angle of the work was made ready, and Lieutenant 



3 76 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Davis had reported himself in readiness to open fire. Again 
Major Anderson assembled his officers, and consulted with them 
as to what should be done. Five of them (Doubleday, Foster, 
Crawford, Davis, and Hall) were in favor of an immediate reply 
to the batteries. Three (Seymour, Snyder and Meade) advised 
that we should delay firing, and should send to the island and ask 
the authorities in regard to their action, and also, that we should 
send to the schooner and learn her purpose. She had now 
anchored just beyond the range of the batteries. The latter 
course was adopted by Major Anderson, who at once despatched 
two of his officers to the commanding officer on Morris Island, 
while the men remained at the guns. The officers were met 
upon landing by a sentinel, and the commanding officer soon 
made his appearance. He had, he said, simply carried out his 
orders, which were to fire upon any vessel carrying the United 
States flag that attempted to enter the harbor after being warned 
by a shot fired across her bow, which this vessel had done when 
she was fired into. The officers then visited the schooner, and 
they found from the statement of the captain that she was the 
Rlioda B. Shannon, of Boston, with a cargo of ice for Savannah. 
The weather was bad, and he had made a mistake in his reckon- 
ing; and he supposed that he was entering that harbor, and 
that when the first shot was fired across him, he hoisted his flag, 
as he supposed the shot was fired for that purpose. He had 
endeavored to secure a pilot by displaying his flag, but had failed. 
The captain had an imperfect idea of the condition of things, 
and appeared incompetent to any action. The Governor of the 
State and the general in command witnessed the whole proceed- 
ing from Sullivan's Island. 

Despatches were at once prepared by Major Anderson, who 
again assembled his officers, on the 4th of April, and announced 
his intention to send an officer to Washington. Lieutenant Talbot 
had meantime been promoted to the Adjutant-General's Depart- 
ment, and it was necessary for him to join his post. Major Ander- 
son had determined, therefore, to send him with his despatches to 
Washington. In his consultation with the officers he made known 
to them, for the first time, the instructions he had previously 
received from Washington of January 10 and February 23, in 
which he was earnestly directed to act strictly upon the defensive, 
and to avoid any collision by all means consistent with his safety. 



IMPORTANT DESPATCH OF COMMIS. CRAWFORD. 



Ill 



This he regarded as the qualifying clause which would justify 
him in not opening his batteries. Captain Talbot, accompanied 
by Lieutenant Snyder, who was sent under a white flag to the 
Governor to give them a detail of the statement of the captain 
of the schooner, proceeded to Charleston. General Beauregard 
was present at the interview. The Governor replied, in response 
to Lieutenant Snyder's statement, that the commandant of the 
vessel whose duty was to warn vessels off the harbor, had left his 
post on account of rough weather, and would be dismissed, and 
that peremptory orders had been sent to stop the random firing. 
The Governor adhered to the promise given, and the captain in 
charge of the guard-boat Petrel was dismissed. 

It was at this interview that the Governor informed Lieuten- 
ant Snyder of the despatch of Commissioner M. J< Crawford, on the 
ist of April, from Washington ; that no attempt would be made 
to reinforce Fort Sumter with men or provisions, and that the 
President intended to shift the responsibility upon Major Ander- 
son by suffering him to be starved out. 

Objection was made to the mission of Captain Talbot, but 
upon examining the orders of his War Department, the Confed- 
erate general concluded that they referred more especially to the 
engineer laborers and enlisted men, and Captain Talbot was 
permitted to depart. The authorities at Montgomery did not so 
construe the orders given, which were intended to cover the entire 
command at Fort Sumter, and an explanation was asked. It was 
answered by the commanding general, that Lieutenant Talbot 
was allowed to go in order to diminish the number of officers in 
Sumter, and with the hope that he would report the true condi- 
tion of things, which Governor Pickens and himself had reason to 
believe was not satisfactory to them. 

The despatch of Major Anderson to his Government was 
important, as it enabled him to define distinctly his position at 
the time. In his letter of April 4 he encloses the report made 
on the 3d instant, by Captain Seymour and Lieutenant Snyder, in 
regard to the firing upon the schooner, and then informs the 
Department that he had been under the belief that he would 
shortly receive orders to abandon the fort, and that this was con- 
firmed by what Colonel Lamon had said to him, as well as from 
other sources. That he had concealed some of his guns by plank- 
ing, and that when he was prepared to use them, the firing was 



378 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

over. And that in accordance with his orders of February 23, 
he determined not to open fire until he had "investigated the 
circumstances." With scanty ammunition, with provisions for a 
few days only, a collision with the superior force around him 
would have probably terminated in his destruction before relief 
could reach him ; and in hourly expectation of receiving definite 
instructions, and bound, too, as he considered himself to be, by his 
explicit and peremptory orders, he deeply regretted that he did not 
feel himself at liberty to resent the insult to his flag. The con- 
viction that the command was to be withdrawn was so assured in 
their minds at this time, that although it did not operate to sus- 
pend the preparations for the defense of the work, the mode of its 
accomplishment largely engaged the attention and thought of the 
garrison and its commander. 

He blamed the State authorities for not communicating 
instructions to vessels desiring to enter the harbor, and he sends 
Captain Talbot to give the Department an opportunity to m.odify 
their orders to him, if it were deemed proper to do so; and he 
would "delay obedience thereto" until Captain Talbot should 
report and he should receive a telegram from the War Depart- 
ment, to which he thus wrote: 

''Fort Sumter, S. C, April 4, 1861. 

" (Received A. G O., April 6.) 
' Col. L. Thomas, Adjutant-General U. S. Army: 

" Colonel: I have the honor to send herewith a report of the 
circumstances attending a firing yesterday afternoon by the bat- 
teries on Morris Island at a schooner bearing our flag, bound 
from Boston to Savannah, which, erroneously mistaking the light- 
house off this harbor for that of Tybee, and having failed to get 
a pilot, was entering the harbor. 

" The remarks made to me by Colonel Lamon, taken in con- 
nection with the tenor of newspaper articles, have induced me, as 
stated in previous communications, to believe that orders would 
soon be issued for my abandoning this work. When the firing 
commenced some of my heaviest guns were concealed from their 
view by planking, and by the time the battery was ready the firmg 
had ceased. I then, acting in strict accordance with the spirit and 
wording of the orders of the War Department, as communicated 
to me in the letter from the Secretary of War dated February 23, 
1 86 1, determined not to commence firing until I had sent to the 
vessel and investigated the circumstances. 

" The accompanying report presents them. Invested by a 
force so superior that a collision would, in all probability, terrai- 



REPORT OF MAJOR ANDERSON. 379 

nate in the destruction of our force before relief could reach us, 
with only a few days' provisions on hand, and with a scanty sup- 
ply of ammunition, as will be seen by a reference to my letter of 
February 27, in hourly expectation of receiving definite instruc- 
tions from the War Department, and with orders so explicit and 
peremptory as those I am acting under, I deeply regret that I did 
not feel myself at liberty to resent the insult thus offered to the 
flag of my beloved country, 

"I think that proper notification should be given to our 
merchant vessels of the rigid instructions under which the com- 
manders of these batteries are acting; that they should be noti- 
fied that they must, as soon as a shot is fired ahead of them, at 
once round to and communicate with the batteries. 

" The authorities here are certainly blamable for not having 
constantly vessels off to communicate instructions to those seek- 
ing entrance into this harbor. 

"Captain Talbot is relieved, of course, by order No. 7, from 
duty at this post. I avail myself of this opportunity of stating 
that he has been zealous, intelligent, and active in the discharge of 
all his duties here, so far as his health permitted him to attempt 
their performance. I send him on with these despatches, to give 
the Department an opportunity, if deemed proper, to modify, in 
consequence of this unfortunate affair, any order they may have 
sent to me. I will delay obedience thereto until I have time to 
receive a telegram after Captain Talbot's having reported to the 
War Department. 

" I am Colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" Robert Anderson, 
'^^ Major, First Artillery, Commanding ^ 

[Inclosure.] 

"Fort Sumter, April 3, 1861. 
" Maj. Robert Anderson, First Artillery, U. S. Army, 

" Cofnmanding Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor: 

" Major: In obedience to your directions, we visited Cum- 
mings Point, and the schooner bearing the United States flag, 
which was fired into by the batteries on Morris Island, and 
respectfully present the following statement concerning the affair: 

"The commanding officer on Morris Island, Lieutenant- 
Colonel W. G. De Saussure, stated that a schooner with the 
United States flag at her peak endeavored to enter the harbor 
this afternoon about 3 o'clock; that in accordance with his 
orders to prevent any vessel under that flag from entering the 
harbor, he had fired three shots across her bows, and this not 
causing her to heave to, he had fired at her, and had driven her 
out of the harbor; that he thought one or two shots had taken 
effect, and that if he had a boat that could live to get out to her 
he would send and see if she were disabled, and inform Major 



38o 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



Anderson at once, but that he had no proper boat, as the schooner 
was at anchor in a very rough place; that the revenue cutter had 
gone out to examine her condition. We ascertained the schooner 
to be the Rhoda B. Shannon, Joseph Marts, master, of Dor- 
chester, N. J., bound from Boston to Savannah with a cargo of 
ice, having left the former place on March 26. On account of 
unfavorable weather, the master had obtained but one observa- 
tion, and that was an imperfect one on yesterday. On his arrival 
off Charleston Bar, supposing himself to be off Tybee, and seeing 
a pilot-boat, he directed one of his men to hold the United 
States flag in the fore rigging as a signal for a pilot. As none 
came, the flag was taken down in a few minutes, and the master 
undertook to bring his vessel into the harbor without a pilot. He 
did not discover that he was not in Savannah Harbor until he had 
crossed the bar and had advanced some distance in the harbor. 
As he was passing Morris Island, displaying no flag, a shot was 
fired from a battery on shore across the bows of the schooner. 
The master states that he thought they wished him to show his 
colors, and that he displayed the United States flag at his peak. 
One or two shots were then fired across the schooner's bows, but 
he did not know what to do or what the people on shore wished 
him to do; that he kept the vessel on her course until they fired 
at her, and one shot had gone through the mamsail, about two 
feet above the boom, when he put her about and stood out to 
sea, anchoring his vessel in the Swash Channel, just inside of the 
bar; that the batteries kept on firing at his vessel for some time 
after he had turned to go out to sea. 

" The master of the schooner stated that before leaving Bos- 
ton, he had learned how affairs stood in Charleston Harbor, and 
that Fort Sumter was to be given up in a few days; that they 
had established a new confederacy down South. 

" After satisfying ourselves that the vessel was uninjured, and 
as she was lying in a very rough place, we advised the master to 
move his vessel — either to stand out to sea and go on to Savan- 
nah, or to come into the harbor and anchor. 

<' On our return we stopped at Cummings Point, and stated 
the facts to Lieutenant-Colonel De Saussure. He said that the 
vessel would not be molested if she came into the harbor. 

" The schooner weighed anchor a short time after we left, 
and stood in towards Morris Island for some distance, but finally 
turned about and went to sea. 

" Respectfully submitted. 

" T. Seymour, Captain, First Artillery. 
"G. W. Snyder, Lieutenant of Engineers.'" 

But the causes of irritation continued to increase. A revenue 
cutter came to anchor within two hundred yards of the work and 
the daily boat from the fort to Fort Johnson for the mails and 



INC RE A SING CA USES OF IRRITA TIGN 3 g I 

provisions was stopped by the officer in command of the cutter 
and obliged to display a white flag, stating that such were his 
orders. This had been brought to the notice of the Governor 
by Lieutenant Snyder in his interview, by direction ot Major 
Anderson, who at the same time addressed a communication to 
the Confederate general, expressing his disbelief that any such 
orders had been given by him. The letter was friendly and per- 
sonal. He was unwilling, he said, that his officers should leave 
the fort, as they hoped to do in a few days, under such an impres- 
sion; that he had never regarded himself as being in a hostile 
attitude towards the inhabitants of South Carolina, and had been 
very particular in his intercourse with them, treating all with 
civility and courtesy. But this was not th"e only cause of com- 
plaint. A mortar battery at Mt. Pleasant, in practicing for range 
had exploded shells so near to the work as to endanger its 
occupants. This too was made the subject of a remonstrance by 
Major Anderson. In reporting the location of this battery, not 
before known to him, the engineer officer reported to his chief 
that this battery, in connection with the other mortar batteries 
reported on the islands, would reach by their shells every part of 
the fort. 

Both the Governor and the general in command disclaimed 
any knowledge of the authority exercised by the cutter, as far as 
the mail boat was concerned. Soon after, the cutter was removed 
to a greater distance and the firing from the mortar battery was 
not renewed. The firing of the battery was made the subject of 
a communication to his Government by Major Anderson, who 
urged that '' the truth is that the sooner we are out of this harbor 
the better. Our flag runs an hourly risk of being insulted, and 
my hands are tied by my orders, and if that was not the case I 
have not the power to protect it."* There was marked depression 
among the officers, with constant reference to, and condemnation 
of, the failure to fire upon the batteries that had opened upon the 
schooner. An increased nervous sensibility was observable, which 
manifested itself in various ways. Increased vigilance upon the 
part of the guard-boats protecting the channel was now mani- 
fested and a large force put to work upon the batteries at Cum- 
mings Point, and the garrisons of the works around reinforced. 



* Anderson to War Department, April 6, 1861. " War of the Rebellion." 



382 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

On the 7th, the supply of provisions to the fort was stopped by 
orders from Montgomery. The mails, however, were still per- 
mitted to come, and on the afternoon of this day, an important 
communication from the Secretary of War was received by Major 
Anderson, informing him for the first time of the purpose of the 
Government in regard to him and his command. He was to be 
provisioned peaceably if possible, if not, an effort to provision 
and reinforce him was to be made, and he was to hold out, if 
possible, to a specified time and await the expedition for his relief. 
Confidence that he would act as a patriot and a soldier was 
expressed by the Secretary, who at the same time authorized a 
capitulation should it become a necessity. Upon the subject- 
matter of the despatch, Major Anderson was silent. He was 
deeply affected by it. The letter was as follows: 

"War Department, 
"Washington, D. C, April 4, i£6i. 
" Major Robert Anderson, U. S. Army : 

" Sir : Your letter of the ist instant occasions some anxiety 
to the President. 

" On the information of Captain Fox he had supposed you 
could hold out till the 15th instant without any great inconven- 
ience; and had prepared an expedition to relieve you before that 
period. 

" Hoping still that you will be able to sustain yourself till the 
nth or 12th instant, the expedition will go forward ; and, finding 
your flag flying, will attempt to provision you, and, in case the 
effort is resisted, will endeavor also to re-enforce you. 

"You will therefore hold out, if possible, till the arrival of 
the expedition. 

" It is not, however, the intention of the President to subject 
your command to any danger or hardship beyond what, in your 
judgment, would be usual in military life; and he has entire con- 
fidence that you will act as becomes a patriot and soldier, under 
all circumstances. 

" Whenever, if at all, in your judgment, to save yourself and 
command, a capitulation becomes a necessity, you are authorized 
to make it. 

" Respectfully, 

" Simon Cameron, 

" Secretary of War." 

On the morning of the 8th, by the destruction of a house 
which had hitherto wholly concealed it, a battery of four heavy 
guns, well constructed, with sod revetments, was unmasked 



SEIZURE OF THE MAILS. 383 

at the upper end of Sullivan's Island. From its position, it could 
" enfilade the terrepleins of both flanks of the work," and would 
command by its fire the only anchorage near the fort that was 
practicable, that upon the left flank of the work. The discovery 
of this battery produced a marked and depressing effect upon 
Major Anderson. He seemed nervous and anxious. He thought 
that its fire, taking in reverse and enfilading his most efficient 
battery, the one that he depended upon to silence the breaching 
battery at Cummings Point, would, independent of the " shower 
of shells " u43on him, render it impossible for his men to serve the 
guns. Some of the officers also seemed to share in this feeling, 
and there was a general depression in regard to it. 

It was necessary to make provision at once, as far as the now 
almost exhausted means at the disposal of the garrison would 
allow, to meet this new condition of things. The engineers were 
promptly at work, and a traverse composed of a double curb of 
boards and scantling and filled in with earth in the absence of 
sand-bags, hoisted from the parade, was built upon the parapet to 
protect the guns and the important battery on the right flank. 
"Ladders and runways " to facilitate the reception of supplies 
were prepared, and one of the embrasures enlarged so as to 
admit a barrel. Openings were made in the walls of the officers' 
quarters so as to allow the freest communication from flank to 
flank. To protect the main gates more efficiently from the fire 
from Cummings Point, a heavy traverse was commenced, and 
some modification made by cutting the embrasures so as to allow 
the heavy guns on the right flank of the gorge to be used against 
the batteries at Cummings Point. 

Upon the 8th, what had been before contemplated was now 
put into execution. The authorities at Charleston seized and 
opened the mails from Fort Sumter. Late on the previous day 
(8 p. M.) a notice was sent by the Confederate general to Major 
Anderson informing him that until further instructions from the 
Confederate Government, " no mails would be allowed to go to 
or come from Fort Sumter." The fort was to be " completely 
isolated." Anderson at once took alarm, and wrote requesting 
that the mails sent previously to the notification he had received 
should be returned to him, and he confidently hoped that his 
request might be complied with. 

But this was not done, and he was informed by the Confeder- 



384 ^-^^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

ate general that while the private letters were sent to their desti- 
nation, those that were " official " were sent to the Confederate 
Government, in return for "the treachery of Captain Fox," who 
was reported as having violated his word to Governor Pickens. 

The same accusation was made by Governor Pickens in a 
communication to the President of the Confederate States, and 
who also informed the Confederate Secretary of War that he had 
seized the mails because he considered that a state of war had been 
" inaugurated by the authorities at Washington," and that " all 
information of a public nature " was necessary to them. " You 
will see," said he, "by these letters how it is intended to supply 
the fort." 

On the 8th, the stoppage of the mails for Fort Sumter had 
been determined upon, and Anderson was so informed. Judge 
Magrath had been sent to Postmaster Huger to tell him that the 
Governor had determined to seize the mail.* 

Among the letters thus seized were two from Major Ander- 
son, and one from the engineer officer to the Government. 
Their contents were of the highest importance, as they made 
known to the Confederate authorities not only what was being 
then done as to the defenses of the work, but revealed to them 
the personal sentiments of Major Anderson. His despatch was 
in response to the communication of the Secretary of War of the 
4th inst, and was as follows: 

No. 96.] "Fort Sjmter, S. C, April 8, 1861. 

" Col. L. Thomas, Adjutant-General U. S. Army: 
" Colonel: I have the honor to report that the resumption of 



* A staff-officer of the Governor was sent to the postmaster on the 9th of April 
demanding their delivery to him. The bag containing Major Anderson's mail 
was handed to him and taken to the headquarters of tlie Government. The bag 
was thrown upon the table around which sat the Governor's advisers, including 
the Governor himself and also General Beauregard. It was opened, and passed 
over to Judge Magrath to examine. This he declined, saying, " No, I have too 
recently been a United States' Judge, and have been in the haliit of sentencing 
people to thejienitentiary for this sort of thing, so, Governor, let General Beaure- 
gard open them." General Beauregard replied, "Certainly not ; Governor, you 
arc the proper person to open these letters." Governor Pickens then took up one 
of the letters in an official envelope, turned it over nervously, saying, " Well, if 
you are all so fastidious about it, give them to me. " 

He held the letter for some time, when Judge Magrath said, "Go ahead. 
Governor, open it." The Governor then tore open the letter so nervously 
as almost lO destroy it. Nothing but the official mail was opened. Private let- 
ters were not disturbed, but sent to their destination. A private letter directed 
to Mrs. Anderson was opened for the reason that it had an official backing ; 
when its character was recognized, it was at once closed. 



AiVDEHSON'S OPINION OF FOX'S FLAN. 



385 



work yesterday (Sunday) at various points on Morris Island, and 
the vigorous prosecution of it this morning, apparently strengthen- 
ing nearly all the batteries which are under the fire of our guns, 
shows that they either have received some news from Washing- 
ton which has put them on the qui vive, or that they have received 
orders from Montgomery to commence operations here. I am 
preparing by the side of my barbette guns protection for our men 
from the shells, which will be almost continuously bursting over 
or in our work. 

''I had the honor to receive by yesterday's mail the letter of 
the honorable Secretary of War, dated April 4, and confess that 
what he there states surprises me very greatly, following as it does 
and contradicting so positively the assurance Mr. Crawford tele- 
graphed he was authorized to make. I trust that this matter will 
be at once put in a correct light, as a movement made now, when 
the South has been erroneously informed that none such will be 
attempted, would produce most disastrous results throughout our 
country. 

" It is, of course, now too late for me to give any advice in 
reference to the proposed scheme of Captain Fox. I fear that 
its result cannot fail to be disastrous to all concerned. Even 
with his boat at our walls the loss of life (as I think I mentioned 
to Mr. Fox) in unloading her will more than pay for the good to 
be accomplished by the expedition, which keeps us, if I can main- 
tain possession of this work, out of position, surrounded by strong 
works, which must be carried to make this fort of the least value 
to the United States Government. 

We have not oil enough to keep a light in the lantern for one 
night. The boats will have, therefore, to rely at night entirely 
upon other marks. I ought to have been informed that this 
expedition was to come. Colonel Lamon's remark convinced me 
that the idea, merely hinted at to me by Captain Fox, would not 
be carried out. We shall strive to do our duty, though I frankly 
say that my heart is not in the war which I see is to be thus com- 
menced. That God will still avert it, and cause us to resort to 
pacific measures to maintain our rights, is my ardent prayer. 
*' I am, Colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" Robert Anderson, 
'^ J\fajor, First Artillery, Commanding" 

[In closure No. i.] 

" Fort Sumter, S. C. April 8, 1861. 
"General Joseph G. Totten, 

" Chief Engineer U. S. Army, Washington, D. C: 
"General: The increased activity and vigilance of the invest- 
ing force, as reported yesterday, still continues. Three large 
traverses are nearly completed on the front, from battery Nos. 3 to 
5, on Morris Island, and traverses are also being erected in the 



386 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

interior of battery No. 5. Additions of sand-bags are being made 
to the covering of the magazine, between Nos. 2 and 3, and to 
the left flank of No. i, where I think they are constructing a serv- 
ice magazine. 

"I am busily at work constructing splinter-proof shelters on 
the terreplein. I obtain timber by taking the gun-carriages to 
pieces, and form the covering of the 2-inch iron pieces for 
embrasures, as seen below. The plates are spiked on, so as to be 
securely retained in their places, even if struck by a shell, which 
I am confident it will turn. 

"Our supplies are entirely cut off from the city, and those on 
hand are very limited. 

" The besieging forces worked all day yesterday, whenever the 
intervals between the showers of rain would allow. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"J. G. Foster, Captain Engineers. 

" P. S. — I received yesterday a letter from the Secretary of War 
to Major Anderson, which, by mistake, had been enveloped to 
me. I handed it to Major Anderson without reading. 
" Respectfully, &c., 

"J. G. Foster, Captain Engineers'* 



[Inclosure No. 2.] 
" Col. L. Thomas, Adjutant-General : 

" Dear Colonel : In another envelope I shall send a No. 96, 
which you will be pleased to destroy. 

" That God will preserve our beloved country, is the heartfelt 
prayer of your friend, " R. A." 

It was upon the expressions of this letter that the allegations 
against Captain Fox were based, and upon them their action in 
regard to the mails was taken. 

Captain Fox was ignorant of any guaravitee or pledge made by 
Captain Hartstene on his account. He had told Captain Hartstene, 
as before stated, of his desire to visit Sumter to learn its condi- 
tion and to inquire into the state of the provisions ; and whatever 
guarantee that officer may have given, or promise made, was 
unknown to him. His plan for the relief of the work had long 
been known, and its execution was only suspended. No necessity 
for making any arrangement with Anderson existed, nor was any 
plan suggested to him. The basis of the accusation made against 
Captain Fox rests solely upon the statements in Major Anderson's 
letter of the 8th of April, which was seized and opened by the 
State authorities on the 9th. This letter, as has been stated, was 
a reply to the communication of the Secretary of War of the 4th 



GOVERNOR'S STATEMENT REGARDING CAP. FOX. T^^y 

of April, that the President, upon the information of Captain Fox, 
had supposed that Major Anderson could hold out until the 15th 
instant, and had prepared an expedition to relieve him. Captain 
Fox's plan, long in abeyance, had finally been determined upon, 
and it was the carrying out of this "proposed scheme" whose 
results he feared. It was the proposal of Captain Fox, not origi- 
nated or agreed upon at the time of his visit to Fort Sumter, but 
long before submitted to the Government, and now adopted by 
them. 

In his message to the Legislature of South Carolina at the 
extra session of November, 1861, the Governor of the State, in 
reference to his visit, stated that Captain Fox said that he desired 
to visit Fort Sumter, and that his objects were " entirely pacific." 

" Upon the guarantee of the officer introducing him. Captain 
Hartstene, he was permitted to visit Major Anderson in company 
with him, expressly upon the pledge of pacific purpose. Not- 
withstanding this, he actually reported a plan for the reinforce- 
ment of the garrison by force, which was adopted. Major 
Anderson protested against it." 

The tone of his communication, and his admission that his 
heart was not in the war which was thus brought on, gave rise to 
severe criticism and reflection upon Major Anderson, who, con- 
scious probably of the effect it would produce, had made the un- 
usual request that his letter might be destroyed 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

South Carolina Convention still in session — All resolutions referring to Sumter 
laid on the table — Governor requested to call for volunteers— Military in- 
terests transferred to Confederate Government — Convention adjourns April 
ID — Invportant telegram from Commissioner Crawford — Anderson alarmed 
and impressed by it — His earnest letter to his Government — Asks for in- 
structions—Confederate Secretary of War to Beauregard— Conflicting tele- 
grams from Washington to Charleston — Lieutenant Talbot arrives in 
Washington— President gives notice to Governor Pickens of his intention 
to provision Fort Sumter, and to reinforce if resisted — Talbot, with Mr. 
Chew, of State Department, goes to Charleston — The notice — Read to Gov- 
ernor in presence of Beauregard — Messengers abrupt return —Their jour- 
ney impeded — Volunteers called for — Anderson reports— Feeling in Fort 
Sumter — Floating battery in position — Provisions exhausted — Boat with 
white flag approaches the work. 

While the events related were transpiring, the Convention of 
South Carolina was holding its session in the city of Charleston. 
Resolutions and various amendments, all looking to the immediate 
possession of the public property in the harbor, as well as rec- 
ommending an aggressive military policy, and even specifying 
Executive action in regard to the forts, were offered from time to 
time, and renewed as events occurred which seemed to precipitate 
action. Propositions were made instructing the Commissioners 
in Washington, and expressing the sense of the Convention in 
reference to the occupation of Fort Sumter. Two days after the 
passage of the Ordinance of Secession, the Committee, at the 
head of which was Ex-United States Judge Magrath, and to which 
had been referred so much of the message of the President of the 
United States as referred to the property of the United States in 
South Carolina, made their report. They held that the possession 
of places within the territorial limits of the State by a power now 
in all its relations foreign, would be inconsistent with the safety 
and honor of the State, and that the possession of the forts should 
be restored to her, and asserted that any armament of them would 
fee regarded as an act of hostility. Resolutions of inquiry into 
the condition of the forts were offered, as well as instructions to 



SOUTH CARCLINA CONVENTIdV IN' SESSION. T^9i(^ 

the Commissioners at Washington, to demand the delivery of the 
forts. Upon the movement of Major Anderson to Fort Sumter 
a resolution was offered, to the effect that it was the sense of the 
Convention that the occupation of Fort Sumter ought to be re- 
garded "as an authorized occupation and vigorous military defen- 
ses provided immediately." But this, in common with all similar 
resolutions, was ordered to lie upon the table by a large majority 
of the Convention. 

While propositions expressing the sense of the Convention in 
favor of vigorous military preparations and defense were at once 
adopted, all resolutions or amendments whose purpose was to 
direct or guide the Executive or the Commissioners in Washington, 
or in any way to assume Executive action, were promptly laid upon 
the table. But the disposition to interfere was constantly mani- 
fested. The Convention had adjourned on January 5, to meet 
at the call of the President, who reconvened it on the 26th of 
March, to consider the new Constitution of the Confederate 
States; and similar resolutions were again introduced, and again 
laid upon the table. 

Towards the close of the session on the 6th of April, 1861, 
it was determined to inquire and report what resolutions and 
orders passed in secret session, and what portion of the secret 
journal, could now be made public. The resolution was referred 
to the engrossing Committee, who reported in favor of remov- 
ing the injunction of secrecy and of the publication of the pro- 
ceedings. But it was objected, that there was a class of resolu- 
tions the publication of which might give rise to a misconception 
of the real views of the Convention and a misconstruction of its 
action, and to these the attention of the Convention was called. 
The resolution offered upon the day after Major Anderson's 
movement from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter was one of this 
class. It provided that it was the sense of the Convention that 
the occupation of Fort Sumter ought to be regarded as " an author- 
ized occupation " and vigorous military defenses provided im- 
mediately. It was ordered to lie on the table. Many similar 
resolutions were presented, and either in like manner disposed of 
or rejected altogether. And it had been suggested that to pub- 
lish them now to the world would seem to imply that the Con- 
vention had failed to assert the principles involved in these reso- 
lutions or even denied them, and had thus antagonized the action 



390 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

of the Commissioners at Washington. The Committee, however, 
took a different view; they held that it was not the intention of 
the Convention to express any opinion as to the authority and 
character of Major Anderson's occupation, as neither had been 
affirmed or denied by the then administration, and the whole 
question had been confided to the hands of the Commissioners. 
This did not appear upon the record, but this the Committee 
suggested, like the proceedings of all legislative bodies, must de- 
pend for "explanation and vindication upon contemporaneous 
history." The injunction of secrecy was removed and the pro- 
ceedings published. On the 8th of April, a resolution was offered 
in secret session, as the opinion of the Convention, that the mili- 
tary posts at Morris and Sullivan's islands should be strengthened 
by large reinforcements, that the Government should be requested 
to call 3,000 volunteers, or more if necessary, for the protection 
of the harbor. Amendments were offered to the effect that mili- 
tary operations in the harbor should be placed under the charge 
and control of Brigadier-General Beauregard, and that the volun- 
teers should be placed at his disposal. But these resolutions and 
amendments were also ordered to lie upon the table, as well as 
others of a like effect. 

Upon the same day, as already noticed, the Ordinance was 
passed transferring to the Government of the Confederate States 
the use and occupance of the forts, arsenals and public property, 
until by a convention of the people of the State the Ordinance 
should be repealed. Resolutions of thanks to the volunteers, and 
various officers, as well as to General Beauregard and his assist- 
ants, and also a complimentary resolution to Major-General 
Twiggs, for his patriotic devotion and loyalty in resigning his 
commission and turning over the public property in his control to 
the State of Texas, and tendering to him the thanks of South 
Carolina therefor, were passed. On the loth of April the Conven- 
tion called by the people of South Carolina, having wholly per- 
formed the duty required, and having prepared the State as far as 
it was possible to meet the issue, adjourned sine die. 

Communication between the Commissioners and friends at 
Washington, and the authorities at Charleston and Montgomery, 
was now frequent. On the ist of April Commissioner Crawford 
transmitted to Governor Pickens the following important telegram, 
which was forwarded at once to the Confederate Secretary of War. 



TELEGRAM OF COMMISSIONER CRAWFORD. 



391 



<* Charleston, S. C. April i, 1861. 
" The Hon. L. P. Walker, Montgomery, Ala. 

"The following telegram, just received from Commissioner 
Crawford: ' I am authorized to say that this Government will not 
undertake to supply Sumter without notice to you. My opinion 
is that the President has not the courage to execute the order 
agreed upon in Cabinet for the evacuation of the fort, but that 
he intends to shift the responsibility upon Major Anderson by 
suffering him to be starved out. Would it not be well to aid in 
this by cutting off all supplies ? ' 

'Crawford.' 

" Batteries here ready to open Wednesday or Thursday. What 
instructions ? 

" G. P. Beauregard." 

The report of this telegram sent by Commissioner Crawford 
greatly impressed Major Anderson, if it did not alarm him, and 
upon the 5 th of April it was made the subject of an earnest com- 
munication to the Government. He thought that the Commissioner 
had misunderstood what he had heard in Washington, as he could 
not think " that the Government would abandon, without instruc- 
tions and without advice," his command, that had sought to do 
its duty. He thought that if the Government determined to be pas- 
sive in regard to " a recognition of the fact of a dissolution of 
the Union," it would not compel him to an act which would leave 
his ** motives and actions liable to misconception." After his long 
service, he did not wish it to be said that he had treasonably 
abandoned his post, and that he was entitled to this act of justice. 
What to do with the public property, and where to take his com- 
mand, were questions to which he earnestly sought a response; and 
he closes his communication with the statement that unless he 
was supplied, he would be compelled to stay without food or to 
" abandon his post " very early next week. He wrote : 

No. 94.] "Fort Sumter, S. C. April 5, 1861. 

" (Received A. G. O., April 8.) 
*< Colonel L. Thomas, Adjutant-General U. S. Army : 

" Colonel : I have the honor to report everything still and 
quiet, and to send herewith the report of Lieutenant Snyder, whom 
I sent yesterday with a short note and a verbal message to the 
Governor of South Carolina. No reply has been received to my 
note. 

" I cannot but think that Mr. Crawford has misunderstood 
what he has heard in Washington, as I cannot think that the Gov- 



392 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

ernment would abandon, without instructions and without advice, 
a command which has tried to do all its duty to our country. 

" I cannot but think that if the Government decides to do 
nothing which can be construed into a recognition of the fact of 
the dissolution of the Union, that it will, at all events, say to me 
that I must do the best I can, and not compel me to do an act 
which will leave my motives and actions liable to misconception. 

" I am sure that I shall not be left without instructions, even 
though they may be confidential. After thirty odd years of serv- 
ice I do not wish it to be said that I have treasonably abandoned 
a post and turned over to unauthorized persons public property 
intrusted to my charge. lam entitled to this act of justice at the 
hands of ray Government, and I feel confident that I shall not be 
disappointed. What to do with the public property, and where to 
take my command, are questions to which answers will, I hope, 
be at once returned. Unless we receive supplies, I shall be com- 
pelled to stay here without food or to abandon this post very early 
next week. 

" Confidently hoping that I shall receive ample instructions in 
time, 

" I am. Colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" Robert Anderson, 
*' Major First Artillery^ Commanding.^^ 

[Inclosure.] 

It was this telegram that produced the effect upon Major 
Anderson, already noticed. At Montgomery, the Government 
was kept equally apprised of every indication of movement. On 
the 2d the Commissioner telegraphed that the '* war wing " pressed 
upon the President, and that he had been in conference with mil- 
itary and naval officers, which was supposed to be in reference to 
Fort Sumter, and that Mr. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, 
had been found by Senator Dixon to be much moderated and 
strongly inclined to the peace policy. On the same day, the Con- 
federate Secretary of War addressed a communication to General 
Beauregard, in which he expressed to him the distrust entertained 
by the Confederate Government in regard to the evacuation of 
Sumter, or of the indisposition of the United States Government 
to concede or yield any point unless driven to it by absolute 
necessity, and he was in no degree to remit his efforts to prevent 
the reinforcement of Fort Sumter; he was to be prepared to repel 
any invading force, and to act as f he was in the presence of an 
enemy intending to surprise him. The status which he must 
enforce was " that of hostile forces in the presence of each other, 



CONFLICTING TELEGRAMS IN REGARD TO SUMTER. 393 

who may at any moment be in actual conflict." All communica- 
tion between the city and fort was to be "inhibited," and this was 
to be rigidly enforced, and specific instructions would be sent 
him upon the withdrawal of the Commissioners from Washington. 
Telegrams announcing the movements or rumored movements of 
ships or of troops were sent daily to the authorities at Montgom- 
ery or at Charleston, either by the Commissioners or by Southern 
emissaries or friends. The putting in commission of the Pow- 
hatan., the sailing of the Minnesota, the orders to the Pawnee, the 
sending of three companies of artillery to New York, were all 
subjects of telegraphic information and caution. That some 
military expedition was in contemplation and in preparation, was 
plain. And in spite of the rumor that it was intended for San 
Domingo or for Spain, it became daily more evident that it was 
intended for Fort Sumter or for Fort Pickens, and the authorities 
were advised to show equal activity to receive them if they came. 
The advices gradually became more positive. On the 6th of 
April a telegram was sent to the Hon. A. G. Magrath at 
Charleston to the following effect : " Positively determined not 
to withdraw Anderson. Supplies go immediately, supported by 
naval force under Stringham, if their landing be resisted." It 
was signed a " Friend," and was thus endorsed : " To Charles- 
ton office: the above is by a reliable man. Caldwell." 

But the telegraph office was not satisfied unless the despatch 
was confirmed by some responsible name, when the following 
endorsement was made upon it: 

" Monday, April 8. 

Sent by James E. Harvey by telegraph, last Saturday morn- 
ing." 

The telegram was duly received by Judge Magrath, who upon 
the same day communicated it to the Confederate Secretary of 
War at Montgomery, saying also that he had asked as to the 
identity of the "Friend" who had signed it, and was satisfied that 
he was high in the confidence of the Government at Washington, 
but upon the same day a totally different despatch was communi- 
cated to Judge Magrath and others in Charleston and signed 
James E. Harvey. It was as follows: 

" Orders issued for withdrawal of Anderson's command. 
Scott declares it military necessity. This is private." 

It was followed by another, to the effect that great efforts were 



394 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



making to reconsider the withdrawal, but would fail, and again 
by a third, that there was no decision yet reached; the final order 
was reserved, and that the Cabinet was six for withdrawal and one 
against it. A rumor, too, had been circulated that the people of 
South Carolina were opposed to the voluntary withdrawal of 
Anderson's command, and demanded a capitulation, and eager 
inquiries had been made from the emissaries in Washington as to 
the truth of their being opposed to Anderson's voluntary with- 
drawal. The request of Captain Foster, to be allowed to send 
away his mechanics and laborers from Fort Sumter, was on the 
2d of April, as has been already seen, peremptorily refused by 
the Confederate Secretary, who replied that no portion of the 
garrison must be permitted to go unless all go. This decision 
added to the embarrassment of Major Anderson, whose stock of 
provisions was now being rapidly exhausted. Meantime, Major 
Anderson was allowed to receive his mails only, and for the 
reason that they might carry to him authority to withdraw. A 
strict surveillance was to be kept up, and any courtesies required 
were to be determined by the necessities of bis position. No one 
was to be allowed to leave the fort, or any messenger favorable 
to the Washington Government to visit it, except he bore an order 
for the evacuation of the fort. 

On the 8th an ordinance was passed by the Convention, 
transferring the forts, navy yards and arsenals, together with 
Fort Sumter, to the Confederate Government, to be controlled at 
its discretion until the ordinance should be repealed by a con- 
vention of the people. Meantime, Captain Talbot had arrived in 
Washington and had presented the despatch of Major Anderson 
to the Government, which had now wholly determined upon its 
course. Formal notice of its intention was to be given to the 
authorities in Charleston. 

On the 6th instant an order was issued by the Secretary of 
War directing Captain Talbot to proceed directly to Charleston, 
S. C, to procure an interview with Governor Pickens, if Fort 
Sumter was still held, and to read to him a notice that an attempt 
would be made to provision the fort. If the fort had been evac- 
uated or surrendered, he was not to seek the interview, but was to 
return forthwith.* The promise given to the Commissioner, that 



* Secretary of War, April 6, i86i. 



PRESIDENTS NOTICE TO GOVERNOR PICKENS. 395 

due notice should be given of such an attempt, was thus to be ful- 
filled, and Mr. R. L. Chew, of the Department of State, was selected 
as the messenger to proceed to Charleston in company with Cap- 
tain Talbot and deliver his message to the Governor of the State. 

On the 6th they left Washington, and arrived in Charleston 
on the 8th instant, when an immediate interview with the Gover- 
nor was sought by Captain Talbot, who informed him of the 
nature of his mission and of his written instructions, and asked 
that his Excellency would accord an interview to Mr. Chew at his 
earliest convenience. This was at once accorded at the head- 
quarters of the Governor, when Mr. Chew read to him a message 
from the President of the United States, leaving a copy with him. 
On page 396 appears a facsimile of the paper read to the Governor. 

As the State had ratified the Constitution of the Confederate 
States, the Governor desired that General Beauregard, who was 
in command under that authority, should be present when the 
Governor read and handed to him a copy of the message. A 
request upon the part of Captain Talbot, that he might proceed 
to Fort Sumter for duty, was peremptorily refused by both Gov- 
ernor Pickens and General Beauregard, as well as permission to 
communicate w'th Major Anderson, even with the understanding 
that Captain Talbot should return at once to Charleston; and 
very significant hints were given that the immediate departure of 
these gentlemen would be prudent. At the hotel there were signs 
of excitement and disapprobation at the presence of Mr. Chew, 
the object of whose mission had become rumored about the city. 
They were conveyed quietly from the hotel in a carriage, and 
under the escort of an aide of the Governor and one from Gen- 
eral Beauregard to the station near midnight. By direction of 
General Beauregard their journey was impeded and broken. At 
Florence they were detained for some hours, and all telegrams 
sent by them were, by the same authority, communicated to him 
at Charleston. They reached Washington on the fourth day. 

On the 8th, the day upon which the communication of the 
President was delivered, a telegram from one of the Commission- 
ers had come, affirming the uncertainty of ** accounts," and 
that a reassurance, in which, however, they had no faith, had 
been made that the status of Sumter would not be changed 
without notice, and that the war policy prevailed in the Cabinet. 
Upon the same day the Confederate War Department was 



/v- 




;96 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



/>/ ^^^ /^^^^ cx^^^^Ls— — _^ C .^5L^ /2-^,.«'-^ rts^^^t^c^^ U.^, 
^ ^ ^-^""^ ,^,^- O..A-r^l:=r- Y /^ o^ ^z— ^ — ^^ 



INCREASED FORCES TO THE BA TTERIES. 



397 



informed by the general in command at Charleston of the mes- 
sage of the President to the Governor, when he was answered 
that under no circumstances was he to allow provisions to be 
sent. Owing to the premature publication of the proceedings of the 
South Carolina Convention, in which was a detailed report of the 
State Secretary of War, giving '* the exact condition, strength and 
number of batteries and troops in the harbor," the general in 
command at once called out the balance (5,000 men) of the con- 
tingent forces, a measure he deemed necessary on account of the 
warlike preparations made by the United States. Upon the same 
date the Confederate Secretary of War recommended to the 
Governor the calling out of 3,000 volunteers, to be held in readi- 
ness for any service, and a similar request was made to the 
Governors of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi. 

Events of great import now rapidly succeeded each other. 
The forces on Morris Island were increased to 2,100 men, as 
the Governor now informed his Government, and ten compa- 
nies of 800 men and two more regiments were to arrive the fol- 
lowing day (loth); that he had 3,700 men at the different posts 
and batteries, and that by the loth he would have 3,000 more 
which he had "called down." He anticipated a landing in 
boats on the lower end of Morris Island, but he had a fine rifle 
regiment and two Dahlgren guns, with four 24-pounders in battery, 
as well as forty enfilade rifles, to give them 1 cordial welcome. A 
valuable addition to their armament, a Blakely gun, arrived on the 
9th from England. It was the latest improvement in ordnance, 
and was a gift from Charles K. Prioleau, a citizen of South 
Carolina then residing in London, of the firm of Frazer & Co. It 
was inscribed, " Presented to the State of South Carolina by a 
citizen resident abroad, in commemoration of the 20th Decem- 
ber, i860." 

Composed of steel coils, with an elevation of seven and one-half 
degrees to the mile, the Governor had informed the authorities at 
Montgomery that it would throw a shell or twelve-pound shot with 
the accuracy of a duelling pistol, and with only half a pound of 
powder. This gun was placed in position on Cummings Point, 
and fully justified the anticipations in reference to it; its fire was 
accurate and searching, and did more towards effecting a breach 
in the work than any other ordnance. 

.The garrison of Fort Sumter numbered at this period ten 



398 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



officers and sixty-five enlisted men. Meantime vigorous prosecu- 
tion of the work around the fort was noted and reported, although 
the mails had been stopped and no communication allowed. The 
heightening and strengthening of the works, their reinforcement, 
as well as the increased activity of the guard-boats in the chan- 
nels and the signal vessels now far out ''beyond the bar," were all 
observed, as well as the addition of a heavy Dahlgren gun to the 
new battery on Sullivan's Island, the unmasking of which had so 
greatly impressed Major Anderson. 

The rations were fast diminishing ; there was but little bread 
and rice, but by putting the command on half rations, he thought 
that he could make his bread ration last until the 13th. The 
strictest economy was enjoined, and the officers compelled to take 
with them the fragments of bread or crackers that remained after 
any meal ; one cracker to a man morning and evening, none at 
dinner, was now ordered. The greatest enthusiasm prevailed 
among the men. While their long confinement was telling upon 
them, they were yet in good spirits, although unfit for any fatiguing 
labor, and they worked by day and night at the preparations made 
to protect the anticipated landing. The construction of the splinter- 
proof traverses on the parapet was now approaching completion, 
and the sound gun-carriages taken to pieces to obtain necessary 
timber. For their greater protection the whole command was now 
moved into the gun-casemates by Major Anderson's orders. All 
of the surplus blankets and extra company clothing, as well as the 
bed-clothing of the hospital, were used to make cartridge bags, 
while shot and shell were now distributed to the guns. The men 
worked cheerfully and in the greatest elation of spirits, and it was 
after witnessing this that the writer descended from the parapet 
to the lower battery on the morning of the loth, when he saw 
Major Anderson alone, walking slowly backward and forward 
among his guns. He was greatly depressed; he seemed to realize 
that upon himself rested mainly ^the great responsibility. He had 
endeavored to avert the crisis upon him by every means in his 
power; he had failed, and the struggle was unavoidable and immi- 
nent. His sense of duty now overcame every other consideration, 
and he prepared to meet the worst. The morning of the nth of 
April dawned brightly over the harbor of Charleston; nothing 
could exceed the activity everywhere manifested. From the early 
hours of the morning the waters were covered with the white 



BREAD RA TION EXHA US TED. 



399 



sails of the shipping putting hastily to sea. The guard-boats were 
busily plying between the harbor and the bar, incessantly signal- 
ling. Constant communication was kept up between the batteries 
and forts, and the town. Steamers conveying men and material 
left to the last moment, passed at limes under the guns of the fort, 
while small boats with officers bearing special and final instruc- 
tions crossed and recrossed the waters of the harbor at all hours. 
At early dawn the floating battery, which had been towed down in 
the night, was discovered firmly stranded on the upper end of 
Sullivan's Island, behind and protected by the stone breakwater. 
The fire of its guns would cover the whole of the left flank of 
Fort Sumter and command the anchorage for boats, and, as 
Anderson reported to his Government," was admirably placed for 
pouring a murderous fire " upon any vessels attempting to lay 
alongside of the left flank of the fort. The activity around him, 
and the especial direction given to it in the "judicious arrange- 
ments " made to prevent the landing of supplies, induced Anderson 
to believe and to report that, had the authorities about him been 
in possession of the intentions of the Government, they could 
not have made better arrangements. He suggests another plan, as 
the least dangerous course, and this was for the supply vessels to 
run directly into the wharf of the fort after passing Cummings 
Point, where they would be less exposed to fire from the new 
batteries on the west end of Sullivan's Island. In reporting the 
good health and spirits of his men, he says that they were under 
greater anxiety for those whom he expected to come to their relief 
than for themselves. The bread ration was now exhausted; 
damaged rice * was used with broken pieces of crackers which had 
remained, and this with salt pork was the only food left. The 
greatest eagerness was manifested among the men, as they antici- 
pated an immediate solution of the existing difficulty. All of 
the command were now in the casemates, the hospital arrangements 
completed, the traverses to protect the battery upon the parapet 
and also the main gates were finished, and the officers assigned to 
the various batteries. The men could be seen at all hours upon 



* Some rice that had been wet was spread upon the floor of the upper story 
of the officers' quarters to dry. In firing the national salute upon the 22d 
of February the glass in the window was shattered, and mixed with the rice so 
as to render it unserviceable. This was now sifted and used. 



400 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

the parapet, watching the preparations going on around them and 
looking anxiously seaward, when at four o'clock in the afternoon, 
in the midst of the uncertainty and suspense, a boat bearing a 
white flag was seen approaching the work. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Affairs at Fort Pickens— Quasi truce established — Chief Engineer Totten — 
Communication to the War Department in regard to Sumter and Pickens 
— The President not yet determined upon his course — Pressure upon him 
— Finally determines - Orders troops on Brooklyn to be landed at Pickens 
— Commanding officer refuses on account of "truce" — "Provisional expedi- 
tion" prepared — Its detail— U. S. steamship Powhatan— Wox arrival — Her 
preparation to refit for sea — Determination to send provisional expedition 
— Other expeditions under authority of the President — Its detail — Action 
of Secretary of State — His interview with General Scott— Result— Lieuten- 
ant D. D. Porter selected to command Powhatan — Secret orders — Inter- 
view with the President— Orders to Porter- Difficulties in procuring funds 
^Attempt to detain the /'<7w,^a/a«— Finally sails - Arrives at Pensacola — 
Result of the Expedition— Fort Pickens supplied and reinforced — Provi- 
sional expedition sails for Charleston Harbor — Its late arrival— Fort Sumter 
bombarded — Absence of the tugs — Expedition unsuccessful— President's 
letter to Captain Fox. 

In order to a clear understanding of the circumstances which 
from the moment of its advent to power si:rrounded the new 
administration with difficulties that were unprecedented, it is 
necessary to recur again to the condition of affairs affectmg Fort 
Pickens under the former administration. 

On the 6th of February the United States steamer B7-ooJzlyn 
with a company of artillery under Captain Vodges, of the First 
United States Artillery, from Fortress Monroe, had arrived at 
Pensacola, off Fort Pickens, with the intention of reinforcmg that 
fort. But upon his arrival, Captain Vodges was met by orders 
from the War Department, to the effect that his company was not 
to be landed unless Fort Pickens should be attacked or prepara- 
tions made for such attack. He was, however, to land the pro- 
visions necessary. The communication of the War Department 
contained the following enclosure: 

"Washington, January 21, 1861. 
' To James Glynn, commanding the Macedonian ; Captain F. 
Walker, commanding the Brooklyn, and other officers in com- 
mand; and Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer, First Regiment of 
Artillery, United States Array, commanding Fort Pickens, 
Pensacola, Florida: 

" In consequence of the assurances received from Mr. Mallory, 

401 



402 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



in a telegram of yesterday to Messrs. Slidell, Hunter and Bigler, 
with a request it should be laid before the President, that Fort 
Pickens would not be assaulted, and an offer of such an assurance 
to the same effect from Colonel Chase, for the purpose of avoid- 
ing a hostile collision, upon receiving satisfactory assurances 
from Mr. Mallory and Colonel Chase that Fort Pickens will not 
be attacked, you are instructed not to land the company on board 
the Brooklyn unless said fort shall be attacked or preparations 
shall be made for its attack. The provisions necessary for the 
supply of the fort you will land, &c., &c. 

"J. Holt, Secretary of War. 

" Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy.'' 

On this quasi truce, the " status quo " in the harbor of Pen- 
sacola was maintained. 

The pressure brought to bear upon the President in regard to 
Fort Sumter, after the meeting and action of his Cabinet on the 
15th of March, was unremitting, as either side urged upon him 
their peculiar views. A conviction seemed now to prevail in the 
Cabinet that an attempt to succor Anderson would inaugurate 
civil war, and this belief was sustained and supported by the 
highest military authority. 

From his ofificial relation to the military questions involved, 
and upon which he conceived that great political events were about 
to turn, the Chief Engineer* deemed it to be his duty, in addition 
to what he had heretofore said, to state his " strongest convictions" 
in regard to the question of defending or abandoning Forts Sum- 
ter and Pickens. Accordingly, on the 3d of April he addressed a 
communication to the War Department. He thought that even 
were Fort Sumter now filled with men and munitions, it could hold 
out but a short time, that it would be bravely defended with much 
loss of life, and that the issue could only be averted by sending 
a large " army and navy " to capture the batteries and forts; that 
there was now no time to do this, and that if Fort Sumter was not 
evacuated it would be taken by force. He did not advise as to 
the policy of the Government, but he presented facts of a military 
nature which he thought might bear upon the political question. 
He thought, too, that no measures " within our reach " would pre- 
vent the loss of Fort Pickens. Cabinet meetings were now of 
almost daily occurrence, when the subject was earnestly discussed. 
The President had not yet wholly made up his mind. The views 



* General Totten. 



PRES. ORDERS REINFORCEMENT OF FT. PICKENS. 



40- 



of Lieutenant-General Scott and other military authorities had 
greatly impressed him, and these, taken in connection with the 
letter of Major Anderson of the 28th of February, with the esti- 
mate of himself and his officers as to the force required to relieve 
him, supported as it was by the highest military authority, and 
especially by that of General Scott, appeared to the President, " in 
a purely military point of view," to reduce the duty of the admin- 
istration " to the mere matter of getting the garrison out of the 
fort." But the counsels of those who had so consistently urged 
that the fort should be relieved had now prevailed. In spite of 
the great weight of authority, both military and civil, against such 
action, the President resolved that the property of the Govern- 
ment should not be abandoned nor its garrison withdrawn under 
the plea of any necessity, without some effort upon his part to re- 
lieve it; he thought that to abandon Fort Sumter " under the 
circumstances would be utterly ruinous;" that the necessity plead- 
ed for it would be misunderstood, and " would be construed as a 
part of a voluntary policy," and that "it would be our national 
destruction consummated." If, however, before the provisions 
at Sumter were exhausted Fort Pickens could be reinforced, it 
would indicate a policy which would "better enable the country 
to accept the evacuation of Fort Sumter as a military necessity." 
The month of March was drawing to a close before the President 
had finally determined as to the policy he would adopt, and his 
responsibility and action under it. But he had already begun to 
take the necessary steps to carry into execution the plan that 
should be selected. Accordingly, towards the end of March an 
order was sent directing that the company of artillery on board 
the Brooklyn should be at once landed and reinforce that work. 

In order to replenish her stores, the Brooklyn on the 22d of 
March had transferred the troops on board to the frigate Sabine, 
and had left for Key West. The messenger proceeded by sea. 
When the order arrived,* the commanding officer of the Sabine^ 
" acting upon the quasi armistice of the late administration — and 
of the existence of which the present administration, up to the time 
the order was despatched, had only too vague and uncertain 
rumors to fix attention — had refused to land the troops, "f 



* On the 31st of March. 

t The words of the President himself. (See President's Message, Extra 
session of Congress, July, 1861. 



404 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



The messenger, with the news of this refusal, and the conse- 
quent failure to reinforce the work, reached Washington " just 
one week before the fall of Fort Sumter." No time now remained 
to renew the attempt to reinforce Fort Pickens before the crisis 
would have arrived at Fort Sumter, through the absolute want of 
provisions. Some days before, a provisional expedition had been 
ordered by the President in person. On the 29th of March he 
addressed to the Secretary of War a communication desiring that 
an expedition to move by sea should be in readiness to sail upon 
the 6th of April, in co-operation with the navy, and " preliminary 
orders " were enclosed to the Navy and War departments. "^ 

Upon the following day Captain Fox proceeded to New York, 
under the verbal instructions of the President to make ready, but 
" not to incur any binding engagements." Here he consulted 
with prominent citizens who had had experience in naval affairs, 
with a view of coming to an understanding authorized by the 
President's instructions. One of them, Mr. Charles H. Marshall, 
declined to give him any assistance, and for the reason that the 
attempt to relieve Fort Sumter would kill the proposed loan and 
bring on civil war, and because the people had made up their 
minds to abandon Sumter and make the stand upon Fort 
Pickens, t On the afternoon of the 4th of April Captain Fox was 
sent for by the President, and informed by him for the first time 
of his final determination to send the expedition for the relief of 
Sumter. He told him, also, of his intention to send a messenger 
to inform the authorities at Charleston of his purpose to provision 
Fort Sumter peaceably. When, in response, Captain Fox had 
stated that there were but nine days in which to organize such 
expedition and also to reach Charleston, six hundred and thirty- 
two miles distant, the President replied, " You will best fulfill 
your duty to your country by making the attempt." The orders 
to Captain Fox directed him to take charge of the transports in 



*To the Navy: Specifying the steamers required to be placed under sail- 
ing orders, with supplies for one month, and three hundred men to be kept 
ready on the receiving ships at New York. Pocahontas, Pawnee and Harriet 
Lane specified. To the War Department: To hold two hundred men in 
readiness to leave Governor's Island, New York, Supplies for one hundred 
men for one year, to be put into portable shape, and one large steamer and 
two tugs conditionally engaged. 

t Captain G. V. Fox, " Old Residents' Historical Association," Vol. II., 
No. I. Lowell, Mass., p 46. 



PREPARA TIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. 



405 



New York, with the troops and supplies on board, to the entrance 
of Charleston Harbor, and to endeavor to deliver the subsistence. 
If he was opposed in this, he was to report, the fact to the 
senior naval ofificer, who was instructed to force a passage. The 
necessary orders were issued by Lieutenant General Scott to his 
aide-de-camp in New York, who was directed to organize a detach- 
ment of two hundred recruits, with the proper complement of 
officers and arms and subsistence. All of the necessary orders 
were to be given in General Scott's name. 

Captain Fox proceeded at once to New York, where he arrived 
on the 5th of April, and at once pushed forward his preparations 
with the utmost energy. He delivered his confidential orders to 
Colonel H. L. Scott, the aide-de-camp of the Lieutenant-General, 
but that officer "ridiculed the idea of the Government relieving 
Fort Sumter, and by his indifference and delay half a day of 
precious time was lost."* The recruits ordered were undrilled, raw 
and wholly unfit for the service required. The tugs necessary 
were hired with difficulty, the owners objecting to the secrecy 
required, but finally yielded after securing exorbitant rates. 

At this period there were but two small vessels of war in the 
Atlantic waters, the Pocahontas and the Pawnee. The Powhatan 
had arrived at New York on the 13th of March, and by order of 
the Navy Department had gone out of commission at 5 o'clock 
p. M. on the ist of April. The Powhatan had been selected by 
Captain Fox as a part of the provisional expedition now organiz- 
ing, because it was deemed impracticable to crowd the transport 
Baltic with all of the troops and material required ; and with her 
large boats she was deemed indispensable to success. But the 
service of the ship had been anticipated, for on the 31st of March, 
as will be subsequently seen, in his interview with the President 
both the ship and her commander had been named by Captain 
Meigs, and there was at that time no mention of her in connec- 
tion with other service until she was ready for sea. It was the 
intention that she should sail on the 2d of April, but her condi- 
tion was such as to render that impossible. 

At 7 p. M. on that day (April i) an order from the Secretary 
of the Navy, revoking the previous order, directing the detach- 
ment of the officers and the transfer and discharge of the crew of 



* Statement of Captain G. V. Fox. 



4o6 THE GENLSIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

the Powhatan was received by the commandant of the Brooklyn 
Navy Yard, who was directed to hold the ship in readiness for sea 
service. This was followed by a telegraphic order from the same 
source, and of the same date, to " fit out the ship to go to sea at 
the earliest possible moment." These orders were in the ordinary 
routine of the Navy Department. But upon the evening of the 
same day an order was received by telegram from the President 
himself, in similar language, with the addition that the ship was 
to sail under " sealed orders," and that orders would go forward 
by a confidential messenger upon the following day. On the 2d 
the recall of the officers of the PotvJiatan was directed by the 
Secretary of the Navy, who again, upon the following day, urged 
all despatch upon the commandant in preparing the vessel for sea. 
That officer at once devoted himself to the carrying out of his 
instructions, pushing the work by night and day, and by the 5th 
of April he informed the Department that the ship was ready for 
sea, and that she would drop down off the Battery at daylight and 
await the orders of the Secretary. The orders to guide the 
officer under whose command the naval force was placed were 
duly transmitted to him on the 5th of April. The steamers 
Poxvhatan, Pocahontas, Pawnee and Harriet Lane were to proceed 
under his command to the vicinity of Charleston, S. C, 
to assist an expedition in charge of the War Department. The 
primary object of the expedition was to provision Fort Sumter. 
If this was not resisted, no further special service would be 
required by his force, which was, in that event, to return to the 
North. If, however, resistance should be made, he was then to 
open the way to afford security for the boats, and to remove all 
obstructions and reinforce the fort by force. He was to co-operate 
with Captain Fox, who had charge of the expedition under the 
War Department. He was to leave New York with the Powhatan 
in time to be off Charleston bar, ten miles east of the light-house, 
on the morning of the nth of April, there to await the arrival of 
the transports. After the service was rendered, the several vessels 
were to return to their respective posts. Upon the same day con- 
fidential communications were sent to the commanders of the 
several vessels composing the expedition, to report off Charleston 
bar on the nth inst., in accordance with the orders given to the 
commanding officer of the Powhatan for special service, and to 
await his arrival if necessary. This expedition was contingent 



A SECRET EXPEDITION ORDERED. 



407 



upon the necessity for its use, and, in the language of the President, 
" as well adapted as might be to relieve Fort Sumter, and it was 
intended to be ultimately used or not, according to circumstances." 

The news of the failure to reinforce Fort Pickens reached -the 
President in March, when the information was officially received 
that, " under the quasi armistice of the late administration " the 
company of artillery on board the Sabine had not been landed at 
Fort Pickens, as he had anticipated and directed. Unobstructed 
communication with that fort was possible by sea only, and it was 
now too late to renew it before the provisions at Fort Sumter would 
be wholly exhausted and the fort abandoned. In regard to the 
expedition provisionally prepared, the President believed that " the 
strongest anticipated case for using it was now presented, and it 
was resolved to send it forward ; "* and on the 4th of April Major 
Anderson was duly and officially informed of the determination 
of the Government by the Secretary of War. 

Meanwhile, preparations for another expedition were in prog- 
ress, which,although originating by the direct and personal authority 
of the President himself, were unusual, and so contrary to official 
custom and departmental routine that it is deemed proper, in 
view of the serious controversy which followed, to recount in 
detail the steps taken. 

On the morning of the 29th of March a messenger was des- 
patched by the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, with a request to Cap- 
tain M. C. Meigs,a prominent officer of the United States Engineers, 
then on duty in the city of Washington, to confer with him. 
Captain Meigs was at that time in charge of the extension of the 
Capitol and other public works, and was personally and favorably 
known to the Secretary. Upon the evening of that day, the Sec- 
retary, accompanied by Captain Meigs, proceeded to the President's 
residence, where, in a long interview — in which the possibility of 
relief to Fort Sumter was canvassed, and the subject of the rein- 
forcement of Fort Pickens and the means to effect it were discus- 
sed — it was suggested by Captain Meigs that the danger of los- 
ing the fort lay principally in the transportation of troops in boats 
across the bay to attack it before a relieving expedition could be 
fitted out in the North and arrive there. He believed that a ship 
of war under some energetic officer of the Navy should be made 



* President's message. Extra session of Congress, 1861. 



4o8 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



ready for sea, and, if possible, reach Fort Pickens in time to 
anticipate any attack. The return from sea of the United States 
steamer Powhatan had been noticed, and she was mentioned in 
this connection by Captain Meigs as being immediately available. 

The President seemed to be impressed with what had been 
said to him, and wholly favored the scheme. 

Meantime it had become necessary to inform General Scott of 
the purpose of the President. On the morning of the 30th the 
Secretary of State proceeded to the headquarters of General Scott, 
whom he found at his desk, when the following interview took 
place : " Lieutenant-General Scott," said the Secretary, "you have 
advised the President that in your opinion it is impossible to rein- 
force Fort Sumter or Fort Pickens. I now come to you from the 
President, to say that he orders that Fort Pickens shall be rein- 
forced, and that you give the necessary instructions." General 
Scott rose, and drawing himself up to his full height, replied : 
" Well, Mr. Secretary of State, the great Frederick used to say 
that, 'when the King commands, nothing is impossible.' The 
President's orders shall be obeyed, sir."* 

But General Scott was not yet satisfied that the difficulties 
attending the reinforcement of Fort Pickens were thoroughly 
known, and accordingly, on the morning of the 31st of March, he 
sent his military secretary, Lieutenant-Colonel E. W. Keyes, to the 
Secretary of State. Colonel Keyes bore with him a map of Pensa- 
cola Harbor, upon which the difficulties of reinforcing Fort Pick- 
ens were to be explained. The Secretary at once ignored the 
" difficulties," and desired Colonel Keyes to find Captain Meigs 
immediately, and to return with him. Shortly afterward, finding 
Captain Meigs, they returned to the Secretary's residence, when 
he at once desired them to make a plan for the reinforcement of 
Fort Pickens, submit it to General Scott, and bring it to the 
President's mansion before 3 o'clock that afternoon. A plan 
looking to the complete reinforcement and supply of Fort Pickens 
was prepared by each. But upon the completion of their work 
it was found to be too late to consult General Scott and arrive at 
the President's mansion at the hour designated. They went 
directly to the executive mansion, where they found the President 
and Secretary awaitmg them. The plans in detail were read by 



* F. W. Seward, Ex-Assistant Secretary of State. 



PLAN OF CAPTAIN MEIGS ADOPTED. 



409 



each. The President became bewildered at the scientific and 
technical detail, while the attentive and silent Secretary protested 
that he did not understand them. But there were no suggestions 
made or any modifications proposed. 

It was at this interview that the name of Lieutenant D. D. 
Porter, United States Navy, was first suggested to the Presi- 
dent by Captain Meigs as a suitable officer to command the man- 
of-war to be employed in the expedition. His daring achievement 
in his entrance with his ship into the harbor of Havana in 
1854, in spite of the prohibition of the Governor-General of the 
island, was told to the President. He had inherited a name illus- 
trious in naval annals, and he seemed from his personal charac- 
teristics to be eminently fitted for the service required. The 
whole subject was thoroughly discussed and determined upon at 
this intei"view, and immediately afterward assumed the shape of 
definite orders for its execution. The President simply directed 
that the plans should be taken to General Scott, who was to be 
told that he " wished this thing done," and that there must be no 
failure unless he refused something asked for as necessary. 
Prompt and immediate action was now taken. This same Sunday 
afternoon the officers mentioned submitted their plans to Lieu- 
tenant-General Scott, who after some discussion approved them, 
and undertook to give the necessary orders at once. At the latter 
part of this interview Secretary Seward was present. 

On the ist of April Lieutenant Porter was sent for by the 
Secretary of State. He reported to him upon the same day, when 
the Secretary informed him that it had been determined to save 
Fort Pickens, and asked if it were yet possible. Lieutenant Porter 
replied that it was possible, but that it was essential to adopt a 
very unusual course. 

The plan submitted by Captain Meigs was again gone over by 
Lieutenant Porter, who urged its adoption upon the Secretary, at 
the same time explaining the naval details involved. 

The Secretary was assured that, however practicable the 
scheme might be, it would be found to be impossible if the war 
vessel should be fitted out in the usual way. In that event the 
orders must pass through the ordinary channels of the Navy 
Department. As many of the clerks were suspected of secession 
sympathies, the news would be communicated and the fort would 
be taken. So he proposed to the Secretary that the Fo7i'hatan, 



4IO THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

then lying at the Navy Yard at New York, should at once be fit- 
ted out "by a secret order of the President." So much impres- 
sed was the Secretary by the proposition of Lieutenant Porter, 
that he proposed to him to see the President, and in company with 
Captain Meigs they proceeded to the Executive mansion. The 
President entered heartily into the scheme — with which he was now 
familiar, after his conversation with Captain Meigs — and readily 
endorsed all the plans proposed. Recognizing the fact that the 
procedure involved an ignoring of the Secretary of the Navy, he 
thought that he could overcome that objection. No allusion was 
made to any other expedition whatever, involving the use of the 
Powhatan, as none such had yet been authorized, while the ship 
had been named and her use recommended by Captain Meigs in 
his interview with the President. The proposal of Lieutenant 
Porter was naturally warmly supported by Captain Meigs, who had 
originally proposed it. To him was committed the duty of accom- 
panying the expedition as engineer officer, his rank not being suffi- 
cient to command, while to Lieutenant-Colonel Keyes was con- 
fided the preparation in New York of the direct military details 
of the expedition. The orders to Lieutenant Porter directed him 
to proceed with all despatch to the harbor of Pensacola in the 
steamship Fowhatan, to run into the harbor with his ship, to pre- 
vent any expedition from crossing to attack Fort Pickens, to 
cover the landing of reinforcements, and to remain and protect the 
fort with his guns. 

But Captain Mercer was still in command of the Fowhatan. 
It now became necessary to detach him, when the following letter 
was written by Lieutenant Porter and signed by the President. 

" Sir: You will, on receipt of this order turn over the com- 
mand of your vessel to Lieutenant David D. Porter, who is to 
proceed in her on an important service. 

" In depriving you of your command of your vessel I do not 
desire in the least to reflect upon your zeal or patriotism; on the 
contrary, I have the fullest confidence in your ability to perform 
the duty in question. There are reasons, however, which make 
it necessary for the officer who goes in command of the ship to 
be well informed personally of my views and wishes, and time 
will not admit of the delay necessary to communicate with you 
personally. 

''Having to give up your command, I can assure you that 
you may ask of me the command of any other vessel, which will 
be freely given to you. (Signed) ** Abraham Lincoln," 



DETAILS OF THE EXPEDITION. 



411 



But it became equally necessary that the commandant of the 
New York Navy Yard should be informed of the new command, 
of the Powhatan, and of the urgent despatch and secrecy required, 
when the following despatch was written by Lieutenant Porter, 
and also signed by the President: 

' ' Sir : Lieutenant David D. Porter is directed by me to assume 
command of the United States frigate Po7vhatan, and goes on 
important duty, which it is desirable he should accomplish 
without delay, and you will, therefore, give him every aid in fit- 
ting out the vessel. The duty is to be performed with the 
greatest secrecy. 

(Signed) " Abraham Lincoln." 

This was an extraordinary course to pursue, and only to be 
justified by the exigency and the high source that directed it, and 
from which there was no appeal. These communications were 
both committed to Lieutenant Porter, to be delivered in person 
to the officer addressed, and it was thus, under two distinct sources 
of authority, unknown to each other, and both entitled to obedience 
and respect, that the Pmvhatan was made ready for sea service. 

But before proceeding to fit out the expedition, it became 
necessary to arrange for the funds requisite to carry it forward, 
and a difficulty presented itself which threatened to postpone, if not 
to prevent entirely, the success of the expedition. Congress had 
adjourned without making provision for any military or naval se- 
cret-service fund for those departments. The expedition proposed 
was an extraordinary one, and its incidental expenses must be met 
by funds for such service. There were funds for ordinary expenses, 
with open accounts, but to use them publicly would be to make 
krwwn and render futile the proposed expedition. 

There was but one officer of the Government who had at his 
command any secret-service fund, and this was the Secretary of 
State. He was in possession of a fund which he was entitled to 
expend for secret purposes. Of such expenditure no record was 
to be made. According to law, the moneys were to be paid, and 
the approval of the President settled the account. An entry of 
the President's sanction and order was the only record made of 
the transaction. When, therefore, upon the statement of Captain 
Meigs, that $10,000 would be required, the Secretary of State 
proceeded to his Department, procured the amount in coin, and 
for greater privacy went to his own residence and there trans- 
ferred the sum to Captain Meigs, who gave his receipt for it and 



412 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



for the incidental expenses of the expedition, turning over to 
Colonel Keyes and Lieutenant Porter the sums necessary for 
their immediate use. The expedition itself was fitted out by the 
Quartermaster' s Department, Colonel Keyes conducting the nego- 
tiations for the hire of the steamer, while the charter-party was 
executed by the Department quartermaster. The Atlantic was 
to go at once, other vessels were to follow, and the safety of the 
forts in the Gulf was to be assured. On the conclusion of the 
expedition, Captain Meigs returned to the Government the 
unexpended balance of the fund entrusted to him, amounting to 
nearly $6,000. 

On the ist of April Lieutenant Porter left for New York, under 
the general public impression that he was en route for California. 
Captain Meigs followed the next day. Upon the morning of the 
2d Lieutenant Porter reported in person to the acting commandant 
of the Navy Yard (Foote), and presented to him the orders of the 
President. That officer was naturally ''very much astonished " 
at a proceeding so unusual and so contrary to all naval and official 
precedent; and even the name and signature of the President 
failed to reconcile him, nor did he inform Lieutenant Porter of 
the order he had received and acknowledged, at 7 p. m. the 
previous day from the Secretary of the Navy, to refit the Pow- 
hatan with "the quickest despatch," which had been repeated 
by telegram twice upon that day. 

The commandant hesitated to obey the order of the President, 
and insisted upon telegraphing to the Secretary for instructions.* 
But the secrecy of the orders, and their high source, was insisted 
upon; the particulars of the enterprise were all made known to 
him before he would consent; and after a deliberation of two 
hours, the commandant at last concluded to act. The ship was 
at that moment all dismantled. She had been surveyed, and pro- 
nounced unseaworthy; her boilers were worn out, her hull was rot- 
ten, her machinery was all apart, her stores had been removed, 
her crew transferred to the receiving ship, and her officers allowed 
to go home. The captain was the only officer who remained, 
and he was anticipating his detachment. The com.mandant pro- 
nounced the ship unfit to go, but it was impossible to delay, and 



* ' ' Porter, these are ticklish times. How do I know that you are not going 
to run off with the ship? I must telegraph immediately to the Secretary," 
-Admiral Porter to author. 



^'POWHATAN'' FITTED FOR SEA. 



41, 



Lieutenant Porter resolved to take her as she was. It now be- 
came necessary to inform the captain of the ship of the inten- 
tions of the President, and to admit him into the confidence of the 
transaction. The letter of the President gratified him, and he 
had no regrets that the course of events had excluded him from 
an active participation in the expedition. He thought the ship un- 
fit for service, and that she would be knocked to pieces in going 
into Pensacola; but he at once took charge of the refitting of the 
ship, recalled his officers and laid in the necessary stores, as if 
personally concerned. The Powhatan was fitted for sea with a 
rapidity that was wholly unprecedented. The work was pushed 
by night and by day, and it is probable that no such task was ever 
accomplished in less time; when on the evening of the 5th of 
April the commandant of the yard was enabled to report to the 
Secretary that she was ready, and would leave her berth on the 
following morning and await his orders. 

Meantime, Lieutenant Porter had not shown himself at the 
Navy Yard or at the ship, and his connection with her remained 
generally unknown. When the ship was ready, his luggage was 
sent on board marked "American Minister, Vera Cruz," which 
seemed to decide the destination of the ship. The commandant 
had apprised the Secretary of the visit of Captain Meigs to him, 
and the authority of the Government he bore, to make certain 
preparations and to ship certain articles. The orders did not 
come directly to him, but he had gone on with the preparations 
desired, in order to save time, and would report his action, and 
that he was executing orders received from the Government 
through both Navy and Army officers. 

It would appear, from the communication made to the Navy 
Department by the commandant, that something unusual was 
in progress at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but it does not seem 
that any suspicion was awakened in the mind of the Secretary 
that the destination of the Powhatan was other than that intended 
and ordered by him, until she was reported as "ready to sail " 
and awaiting his orders. He now determined to retain the ship, 
and on the morning of the 5th he transmitted a telegram person- 
ally to the commandant in New York, directing him to delay the 
Powhatan for further instructions. The receipt of this telegram 
produced so decided an impression upon the mind of the com- 
mandant that he determined that it was his duty to obey the last 



414 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



order, but the President's order and signature was again shown 
to him, and insisted upon by Lieutenant Porter as taking pre- 
cedence, notwithstanding the priority of date. The captain of 
the ship had come to a similar decision, and felt obliged to give 
up the command. Captain Meigs was of a similar opinion, and it 
was determined that the ship should sail on that day, the 6th, at 
I o'clock. Upon the receipt of the Secretary's telegram, both 
Lieutenant Porter and Captain Meigs put themselves in communi- 
cation with the Secretary of State. Lieutenant Porter informed him 
that the Secretary of the Navy had altered the destination of the 
Powhatan, and asked whether this or the President's order was 
to be obeyed. If the former, Colonel Brown would be " entirely 
crippled." The following telegram was sent to the Secretary of 

State by Captain Meigs: 

*' New York, April 5, 1861. 
"Hon. W. H. Seward: 

'■'■Powhatan was ready to sail at 6 p. m. ; telegram received 
by Captain Foote, commandant of Navy Yard, to detain. First, 
disobedience of orders, came through Stringham; second, Secre- 
tary of the Navy. President's orders were to sail as soon as 
ready. This is fatal; what is to be done? Answer no Astor 
House. 

'' M. C. Meigs." 

But without awaiting a reply, it was determined that the ship 
should sail that evening, notwithstanding the receipt of a telegram 
from the Navy Department that an officer would deliver a 
despatch, and accordingly, at i o'clock p. m. on the 6th, she left 
her moorings with Captain Mercer in command — and with Lieu- 
tenant Porter unseen and unknown, seated in the stateroom of 
the captain — and steamed down the harbor. When opposite 
Staten Island the engines stopped, and sending for the ship's 
First Lieutenant, Captain Mercer introduced him to Lieutenant 
Porter as the future commander of the ship, and putting on citizen's 
dress, went at once ashore. Directing the executive officer not to 
mention his presence until the pilot had left the ship. Lieutenant 
Porter remained in his stateroom. The Powhatan had hardly 
left to go down the harbor when a telegram from the Secretary of 
State arrived for Lieutenant Porter. The commandant of the 
Navy Yard at once despatched an officer to employ a fast vessel 
in New York and go in pursuit, and the ship was only just under 
way again after the departure of Captain Mercer, when a small 



LIEUTENANT PORTER SAlLS iN' ''POIVHA TAN." 4 i ^ 

but swift steamer was seen approaching, and making signals that 
she desired to communicate with her. Again the engines stopped, 
when an officer went on board and delivered to Lieutenant Porter 
the following telegraphic despatch: 

" Deliver up the Powhatan to Captain Mercer. 

(Signed) ''W.H.Seward." 

Porter at once replied: 

"I have received orders from the President which I cannot 
disobey;" and at the same time he transmitted a verbal message 
to Commander Foote, that he regretted that the despatch came 
too late to change his plans, as the Atlantic, which he was to con- 
voy, had already gone to sea. 

The telegram and message were committed to the officer, who 
left the ship, which proceeded immediately and rapidly to sea. 

Meanwhile a change in the relative condition of things at Pen- 
sacola had taken place, which from its very nature could not be 
known to Lieutenant Porter, now coming in the Powhatan. Lieu- 
tenant Slemmer, the commandant of Fort Pickens, believing that 
an attack upon him was threatened, had officially applied for assist- 
ance on the 12th of April. He was yet in correspondence with 
Captain H. A. Adams, of the Sabine, as to the necessity, when 
Lieutenant Worden, of the Navy, arrived from Washington with 
the renewed order to land the company of artillery, which was at 
once accomplished, and had thus partially reinforced the fort six 
days after the sailing of the Atlatitic. 

That ship, with the troops and material under Colonel Harvey 
Brown, with Captain Meigs on board as the engineer to the expe- 
dition, had arrived on the i6th, and her stores were being rapidly 
landed, when on the morning of the 17th the Powhatan hove in 
sight off the harbor. 

The situation had wholly changed, and Colonel Brown, the 
officer now in command, naturally considered that the entrance 
at this time of a ship of war into the channel would bring on a 
collision which might threaten the success of his operations. 

He therefore directed Captain Meigs to hail and board the 
Powhatan, and inform its commander of the exact status of things. 
Meantime Porter was coming in rapidly with his ship, which he 
had disguised as a British man-of-war, her thick smoke from soft 
coal aiding in misleading as to her nationality. He had hoisted 



4 1 6 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

the British colors, intending to run in with them under the enemy's 
guns, and then to display the national flag, and he was making 
directly for the channel upon which bore the guns of Forts 
McRae and Barrancas. His port battery was ready for action, 
his extra ports being filled with guns, when Meigs in the 
Wyandotte appeared, making constant signals. Disregarding 
these. Porter changed his course to avoid them, when the Wyan- 
dotte was thrown across the ship's path, and Porter reluctantly 
stopped. Meigs boarded at once, when the new situation was 
explained. Lieutenant Porter yielded, and soon after brought 
his ship to anchor near the Atlantic to cover the landing of her 
stores. 

With the men and stores from the Atlantic, Fort Pickens had 
now been reinforced and supplied, and the valuable harbor of 
Pensacola thus saved to the nation. 

The fleet intended for the relief of Sumter had now put to 
sea. Before it sailed, it had been suggested by Captain Fox " to 
the Secretary of the Navy, to place Commodore Stringham in com- 
mand of the naval force,' but that officer thought it now too late 
to succeed, and that it would jeopardize the reputation of the 
officer who should undertake it, and the fleet sailed without any 
instructions and without a head. Captain Mercer, when relieved 
from his ship by the President's order, wisely transmitted a copy 
of the secret orders to him from the Navy Department of the 5 th 
instant, through Captain Faunce, of the Harriet Lane, direct- 
ing him at the same time to report to the senior naval officer he 
might find off Charleston. The Harriet Lane sailed on the 8th, 
and was the first to arrive off Charleston bar; the tugs Uncle Ben 
and Yankee, together with the transport Baltic, with the troops 
and material on boards dropped down to Sandy Hook on the 
same day, and went to sea on the 9th at 8 a. m. The Pawnee 
sailed promptly on the 9th, the Pocahontas only on the loth. She 
was the last to sail and the last to arrive. Captain Fox, in charge 
of the expedition, embarked on board of the transport Baltic with 
First Lieutenant Edw. McK. Hudson, Fourth Artillery, in com- 
mand of the troops, with First Lieutenants R. O. Tyler, Third Ar- 
tillery and C. W. Thomas, of the First Infantry regiment, as sub- 
ordinates. Hardly had the fleet got off the coast when it encoun- 
tered a heavy northeast gale, which continued during the passage. 
Before daylight on the 12th, the rendezvous agreed upon was 



FLEE T ARRIVES OFF CHARLESTON HA RBOR. 4 1 7 

reached off the Charleston bar. The Harriet Lane had 
already arrived, but at 6 a. m. the Pawnee was seen, and shortly 
after was boarded by Captain Fox, who then informed Com- 
mander Rowan of his orders from the Secretary of War, and re- 
quested him "to stand in for the bar " with him. This that 
officer declined to do. He replied that his orders required 
him to remain " ten miles east of the light and await the Pow- 
hatan, and that he was not going in there to begin civil war. '"^ 
The Baltic then went in, followed by the Harriet Lane. As 
they approached the land, the firing of the guns at Sumter was 




PARAPET OF GORGE TOWARDS CUMMINGS POINT, PAGE 433. 

heard, and the smoke and shells of the batteries " were distinctly 
visible." Commander Rowan having received his orders 
by the Harriet Lane, was now coming in with his ship. 
Comprehending at once the situation, he asked for a pilot, and 
announced his intention of running in and sharing the fate of the 
garrison. Captain Fox went at once on board, and explained to 
him '' that the Government did not expect such gallant sacrifice" 



* Contributions of the old Residents' Historical Association, Lowell, Mass. 
Vol. II, No. I, p. 48. 



4i: 



Th£: genesis of the civil war. 



in the instructions given either to Captain Mercer or to himself. 
The 1 2th passed without the arrival of any other vessels of the 
fleet; some merchant vessels lingered about the rendezvous, giving 
indication of a large naval fleet off the bar. Anticipating the 
arrival of the Po7uhatan during the night, and yet ignorant of her 
change of destination, Captain Fox returned in the Baltic to the 
rendezvous and signalled for her all night. Neither the Pawnee 
nor the Harriet Lane was furnished with the proper boats to 
carry in supplies or troops to the fort, when Lieutenant Tyler, a 
zealous and efficient officer attached to the troops, organized a 
boat's crew, and notwithstanding the heavy sea prepared them for 
service, that there might be "at least one boat by which to reach 
Sumter." The ground swell was so heavy that the Baltic, in 
steaming towards the harbor, ran aground on Rattlesnake Shoals, 
and was subsequently obliged to anchor in deep water, several 
miles away from the ships of war. 

The bombardment was now at its height; the quarters were in 
flames, and the flash of Anderson's guns could be distinctly seen 
from the fleet as he strove to reply to the enemy's fire, his guns 
sounding like signals of distress. There was no movement for 
his relief, "as it was the opinion of the officers that loaded boats 
could not reach Sumter in such a heavy sea." None of the tug- 
boats had arrived, when a schooner loaded with ice was seized and 
preparations made to use her in lieu of them on " the following 
night." At 2 o'clock, the Pocahontas at last arrived. The flag- 
staff of the fort had been shot away at i rjo p. m. and the firing 
shortly afterward ceased. It was on the morning of this day that, 
for the first time. Captain Fox was apprised that the captain of 
the Potvhatan\id^<^ informed Commander Rowan, on the 6th, of the 
special service of ♦the ship elsewhere, under superior authority. 
Although the Baltic did not leave New York until two days after- 
ward, no information of this fact was communicated to Captain 
Fox. Upon his arrival the commanding officer of the Pocahon- 
tas manifested every disposition to go to the relief of the fort 
and to attempt to pass the batteries, " as the impulse was strong 
to render assistance;" but there were no pilots for the channel on 
board. The buoys and marks had all been removed, and he 
feared that his ship would run aground. Preparations were made, 
however, under a proposition of Captain Fox and Lieutenant 
Hudson, to run provisions and some men into Sumter that night in 



PAILURE OF THE '' FLEET' EXPEDITION. 419 

the schooner, accompanied by boats containing some of the ship's 
crew, but the cessation of the firing, and the arrangements for the 
evacuation soon after, rendered the attempt unnecessary. 

The northeast gale that had detained the war ships had been 
equally severe upon the tugs. The owners of the tug Freeborn 
prevented her leaving New York at all. "The Uiicle Ben was 
driven into Wilmington, N. C, and seized by the rebels."* The 
gale drove the tug Yankee to the entrance of Savannah, and she 
repassed Charleston only after the transport Baltic had returned to 
the North. Thus almost every element that was essential to the 
success of the expedition was wanting. As it failed, it is impossible 
to estimate what might otherwise have been the result. The 
secrecy of the instructions which required the different use of the 
Pmvhatan had been so carefully observed that Captain Fox had 
depended upon her as the flag-ship of the little fleet, and her 
detachment, in his estimation, largely increased the risk of 
failure. But it was all too late — too late in conception, too late in 
execution; mainly due to the political exigency that existed. 
Much was left to hazard, and the information sent to the authori- 
ties in Charleston of the intention of the Government at once pre- 
cipitated the collision. Had the Powhatan remained with the 
fleet, her usefulness, even had she arrived in time, is questionable. 
She could not pass the bar, drawing as she did twenty-one feet, 
and her boats, so much relied upon, were worthless for service, and 
swamped when put into the water. Had she lost a man overboard, 
it would have been impossible to save him by her boats. The 
storm dispersed the tugs when the conditions for their use were 
most urgent, and the Pocahontas arrived only in time to witness 
the surrender. 

In thus taking the Powhatan, it is certain that the Presi- 
dent and the Secretary of State were not aware of any intention 
or action of the Secretary of the Navy in regard to her. There 
was no desire to slight either the War or Navy departments. 
They were yet in an unorganized condition and the Secretary of 
State did not even trust his own Department, and nothing at that 
time was more natural than to conceal, as far as possible, an 
important transaction whose success depended upon its secrecy; 
but why the Secretary of the Navy, the chosen and trusted coun- 



Captain Fox's statement. 



420 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



seller of the President should have been included in this determi- 
nation, is not so clear, unless the reasons previously given should 
fully account for it. The Secretary of State had not favored 
the expedition. He had believed that it would bring on a collision 
and inaugurate war. He had, however, no idea of thwarting the 
Secretary of the Navy, for upon the demand of that official he 
made every effort to transfer the ship to him. 

The President himself was surprised at the confusion resulting 
from the conflicting orders emanating from the Navy Department 
and himself, but while regretting the failure to relieve Fort Sumter, 
he was gratified at the reinforcement of Fort Pickens, and 
rewarded the officers connected with the expedition. At the same 
time, he was not without misgivings lest he should have done 
injustice to a gallant officer, and with characteristic generosity 
he assumed the responsibility, and transmitted to Captain Fox the 
following communication: 

"Washington, D. C, May i, 1861. 
" Captain G. V. Fox. 

'^ My Dear Sir: I sincerely regret that the failure of the 
late attempt to provision Fort Sumter should be the source of 
any annoyance to you. The practicability of your plan was not, 
in fact, brought to a test. 

" By reason of a gale, well known in advance to be possible, 
and not improbable, the tugs, an essential part of the plan, never 
reached the ground, while by an accident, for which you were in 
nowise responsible, and possibly I to some extent was, you were 
deprived of a war vessel, with her men, which you deemed of 
great importance to the enterprise. I most cheerfully and truly 
declare that the failure of the undertaking has not lowered you a 
particle, while the qualities you developed in the effort have 
greatly heightened you, in my estimation. For a daring and 
dangerous enterprise of a similar character you would to-day be 
the man of all my acquaintances whom I would select. You and 
I both anticipated that the cause of the country would be 
advanced by making the attempt to provision Fort Sumter, even 
if it should fail; and it is no small consolation now to feel that 
our anticipation is justified by the result. 

« Very truly, your friend, 

" A. Lincoln." 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Effect of notice of President upon authorities in Charleston —Their action — 
Reply of Montgomery Government — ^Demand for the immediate surrender 
of the fort — Anderson's reply — Verbal statement to the messenger— Re- 
ported to Montgomery — Reply of Confederate Secretary of War — Anderson 
declines its terms — Bombardment opened on morning of the 12th of April — 
Description of the fire of the batteries — Maintained all day — Mortar fire all 
night — Sumter opens fire at 7 o'clock — Service of its batteries — Effect 
of the enemy's fire upon the fort — Fleet arrives — Men withdrawn from the 
batteries at night. 

The intention of the President to attempt relief to Fort Sum- 
ter, as made known to the authorities at Charleston, produced an 
effect and action immediate and decided. A telegram was at 
once despatched to the Confederate Secretary of War by the 
general commanding at Charleston, informing him of the arrival 
of the messenger from the President of the United States, and of 
his purpose to provision Fort Sumter " peaceably if they can, 
forcibly if they must." The receipt of the telegram gave rise to 
an extended discussion in the Confederate Cabinet. While it 
was under discussion Mr. Toombs, the Secretary of State, came 
in, when the telegram was handed to him. Upon reading it, he 
said, " The firing upon that fort will inaugurate a civil war greater 
than any the world has yet seen; and I do not feel competent to 
advise you."* Any reply to the telegram was delayed until the 
morning of the loth, when the following despatch was sent to the 
general commanding at Charleston: 

'* If you have no doubt of the authorized character of the 
agent who communicated to you the intention of the Washington 
Government to supply Fort Sumter by force, you will at once 
demand its evacuation and, if this is refused, proceed in such 
manner as you may determine to reduce it. Answer. 

"L. P. Walker." 

To this the commanding general immediately replied that the 
demand would be made at 12 o'clock upon the following day 

* L. P. Walker to writer. 



422 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



(nth April), But the authorities at Montgomery considered 
that unless there were "special reasons" connected with his 
own condition, the demand should be made earlier. The 
reasons were "special," although not communicated. The 
supply of powder on hand was insufficient for more than a few 
hours' bombardment, and the commanding general was unwilling 
to open his batteries unless with a supply on hand to last him 
for forty-eight hours. Such supply had been contracted for in 
Augusta, Ga. , and only arrived that evening. 

The action of the Montgomery Cabinet was unavoidable, and, 
in a manner, forced upon it. The current of events had set 
manifestly towards the near commencement of hostilities, but it 
was hoped by those in favor of a peaceful settlement that some- 
thing might yet be gained by delay. A large number of influen- 
tial men had not yet defined their position. In the harbor of 
Charleston the preparations for an attack were not complete, 
and the Confederate Commissioners were yet in Washington. 
But the communication of the President precipitated the issue, 
and forced it to an unavoidable conclusion. The temper of 
South Carolina was well known. Her people had long chafed 
under the restraint that prevented her from taking possession of 
a fort that controlled her principal harbor, and, through her 
Governor, her Legislature and her Convention, had again and 
again asserted her anxious desire and her deliberate purpose. 
Hesitation now upon the part of the Governor, to which she had 
entrusted this vital interest, would have been fatal. The antici- 
pation too that the State would herself act — and thus inaugurate 
separate State action, which, if followed by the other seceded 
States would have thrown the new Confederacy into confusion at 
its very birth — greatly influenced the action of the Government 
at Montgomery. The end had been reached, and the demand for 
the immediate surrender of the fort was now to be made with all 
the formality and authority of the Confederate Government. 
Shortly after noon on the nth of April a boat flying a white flag 
pushed off from a wharf in Charleston, and made its way down 
the harbor towards Fort Sumter. In her stern sat three men. 
They were : Colonel James Chesnut, recently United States 
Senator from South Carolina; Captain Stephen D. Lee, a gradu- 
ate of West Point, who had resigned his commission in the 
United States Army, and who, with his companion, was an A- D, C, 



SURRENDER OF FORT SUMTER DEMANDED. 423 

of the commanding general. The third was Lieutenant-Colonel 
Chisholm, an aide-de-camp and representative of the Governor 
of the State. At half-past three the boat arrived at Fort Sumter, 
where it was met by Lieutenant J. C. Davis, the officer of the 
day, and its occupants at once conducted to the guard-room, 
where they were met by Major Anderson in person. The object 
of the visit was soon declared. They bore a communication from 
the Confederate general to Major Anderson demanding the 
evacuation of the work. Believing, he said, that an amicable 
settlement would be reached, and to avert war, the Confederate 
Government had made no demand for its surrender, but they 
could now no longer refrain, and in obedience to the orders of his 
Government he demanded the evacuation of the work. His aides 
were authorized to make such a demand. " All proper facilities 
will be afforded for the removal of yourself and command, together 
with company arms and property, and all private property, to any 
post in the United States you may select. The flag which you 
have upheld so long, and with so much fortitude, under the most 
trying circumstances, may be saluted by you on taking it down." 
Anderson at once summoned his officers, who gathered in silence 
around him, when he announced to them that he had a communi- 
cation to make, that not only involved their position but possibly 
their lives, and he submitted the demand of the Confederate 
general. 

The session lasted for an hour, when the whole subject of the 
position was gone over, and when for the first time the confidential 
communication of December, i860, by Major John Withers was 
made known to the officers. The decision was soon reached, and 
it was determined without dissent to refuse the demand, when the 
following response was made by Major Anderson and handed to the 
messengers : 

"Fort Sumter, S. C, April 11, 1861. 
"General : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
your communication demanding the evacuation of this fort, and 
to say, m reply thereto, that it is a demand with which I regret 
that my sense of honor, and of my obligations to my Government, 
prevent my compliance. Thanking you for the fair, manly and 
courteous terms proposed, and for the high compliment paid me, 
"I am, General, very respectfully, &c." 

The messengers at once, and without further conversation, 



424 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

took their leave. Anderson accompanied them as far as the main 
gate, where he remained ; and as the messengers were about to enter 
their boat a few yards distant, he asked, " Will General Beau- 
regard open his batteries without further notice to me?" This 
interrogatory caused a momentary hesitation and embarrassment, 
when Colonel Chesnut replied, '' I think not," and finally said, 
** No, I can say to you that he will not, without giving you further 
notice." Anderson then remarked that he would await the first 
shot, but that he would be starved out anyway in a few days, if 
General Beauregard did not batter him to pieces with his guns. 

This remark was but partially heard by the messengers, who 
had now entered their boat. The writer was present, when Colonel 
Chesnut asked him in regard to the remark of Anderson, when, 
upon a request to that effect. Major Anderson repeated it. Colonel 
Chesnut then asked if he might report it to General Beauregard. 
Anderson declined to give it the character of a report, but stated 
that it was the fact of the case. The boat then left the work. 
Within the fort, the men had already become aware of the nature 
of the visit, and manifested the greatest enthusiasm. The little 
that remained to be done upon the parapet was now rapidly com- 
pleted. The day closed without further action, and the garrison 
had gone to rest, when at i o'clock on the morning of the 12th 
a boat again approached the work and was hailed by the sentinel. 
It contained Colonel Chesnut and Captain Lee, two of the aides 
of the Confederate general, who had returned with the final propo- 
sition of the Confederate authorities. 

The refusal of Anderson, as well as his verbal statement as to 
his condition, had been promptly telegraphed to Montgomery by 
the commanding general. The reply was immediate, and as 
follows : 

Montgomery, April 11, 1861. 

" General Beauregard : Do not desire needlessly to bom- 
bard Fort Sumter. If Major Anderson will state the time at 
which, as indicated by him, he will evacuate, and agree that in 
the meantime he will not use his guns against us unless ours 
should be employed against Fort Sumter, you are authorized thus 
to avoid the effusion of blood. If this, or its equivalent, be 
refused, reduce the fort as your judgment decides to be most 
practicable. 

" L. P. Walker." 

It was this proposition that was now presented to Major Ander- 



ANDERSON REPLIES TO PROPOSALS MADE. 



425 



son, when he again summoned his officers, and a long and pro- 
tracted conference took place, in which all the officers took part. 
The principal question considered was, how long the garrison 
could hold out effectually with the insufficient supply of food, now 
beginning to be felt by the men. It was greatly desired that the 
fort should hold out at least until the date specified as desirable 
by the Government, the 15th instant. The professional opinion 
of the writer, which was called for by Major Anderson, was 
given to the effect that the men could hold out for five days, 
when they would be three days entirely without food. There was 
no thought of according to the proposal made to reserve or 
restrain the fire of the fort, and no consideration given except to 
reject it, and Major Anderson replied in a written communica- 
tion to the messengers, as follows : 

4.] "Fort Sumter, S. C, April 12, 1861. 

** General : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt by 
Colonel Chesnut of your second communication of the nth instant, 
and to state in reply that, cordially uniting with you in the desire 
to avoid the useless effusion of blood, I will, if provided with the 
proper and necessary means of transportation, evacuate Fort Sum- 
ter by noon on the 15th instant, and that I will not in the mean- 
time open my fires upon your forces unless compelled to do so 
by some hostile act agamst this fort or the flag of my Government, 
by the forces under your command, or by some portion of them, 
or by the perpetration of some act showing a hostile intention on 
your part agamst this fort or the flag it bears, should I not receive 
prior to that time controlling instructions from my Government 
or additional supplies. 

" I am. General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" Robert Anderson, 
'■'■ Major, First Artillery, Commanding. 
"Brig. -Gen. Beauregard, Commanding." 

Three hours had been consumed in the discussion of the sub- 
ject, which was commented upon by the messengers in their report 
of their mission, who thought that a longer time was taken than 
was necessary to decide upon their communication, but that they 
could not prevent it. 

The terms of this reply were considered by the messengers as 
"manifestly futile," and, as far as they were concerned, as 
placing them at a great disadvantage, and not within the scope of 



426 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



the verbal instructions given to them. They promptly refused 
them, -and handed to Major Anderson the following notice : 

"Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861. 

"3:30 A.M. 

*< Sir : By authority of Brigadier-General Beauregard, com- 
manding the provisional forces of the Confederate States, we have 
the honor to notify you that he will open the fire of his batteries 
on Fort Sumter in one hour from this time. 

" We have the honor, &c., 

" Chesnut, 
"Lee." 




PARAPET OF FORT SUMTER AFTER BOMBARDMENT, PAGE 443. 

The messengers now hastily took their leave. The batteries 
around were lighted, their fires burning brightly, as the busy hum 
of preparation was borne across the water to the beleaguered fort. 
Anderson, accompanied by his officers, then went through the case- 
mates where the men were quartered and sleeping ; he aroused 
them, informing them of the impending attack, and directed them 
not to move until they had received orders from him ; that he 
would not open fire until daylight, and that they were then to fire 
slowly and carefully. 

. The sea was calm, and the night still under the bright starlight, 



f 



BOMBARDMENT OF FORT SUMTER. 



427 



when at 4:30 a. m. the sound of a mortar from a battery at Fort 
Johnson broke upon the stillness. It was the signal to the bat- 
teries around to open fire. The shell, fired by Captain George 1/^ 
S. James, who commanded the battery, rose high in air, and 
curving in its course, burst almost directly over the fort. A silence 
followed for a few moments, when a gun opened from the Iron- 
clad battery on Cummings Point. It was fired by Edward Ruf- 
fin of Virginia, who had volunteered for the service. Hardly had 
the echo of this opening gun died upon the air, when the mortars 
nearest to the fort opened their fire, which was at once followed 
by others in the neighborhood, and in succession by the batteries 
around, until the fort was " surrounded by a circle of fire." At 
a distance between 1,200 and 1,300 yards from the fort, and near- 
est to it upon Cummings Point, an array of heavy armament had 
been established, whose construction had been anxiously watched 
by the garrison, and whose value was now to be tested. There 
were three distinct batteries, the result of protracted labor and 
of engineering skill. Upon the right was the '* Trapier " battery, 
consisting of three lo-inch mortars, well placed and protected. 
On the left stood the " Point " battery, consisting of three lo-inch 
mortars, two 42-pound guns, and one 12-pound rifled Blakeley. 
In the centre rose the Iron-clad battery, mounting three 8-inch 
Columbiads. The mortars in the "Trapier" battery, under the 
command of Captain J. Gadsden King, with the Marion Artillery, 
of Charleston, opened their fire immediately after the signal gun. 
They were followed by the mortars in the Point battery, which, in 
connection with the Iron-clad battery, were assigned to the super- 
vision of Major P. F. Stevens, of the Citadel Academy, in Charles- 
ton. They were manned by the Palmetto Guard under Captain 
G. B. Cuthbert. 

Fort Moultrie was ready with its fire, and opened with its 
guns and neighboring mortars soon after the opening gun was 
fired from Cummings Point. Of the thirty guns constituting its 
armament, nine bore directly upon Sumter, and were designated 
as the " Sumter battery," and were under the immediate com- 
mand of Lieutenants Alfred Rhett and Mitchell. They were the 
heaviest of the ordnance of Fort Moultrie, and included the guns 
that had been spiked and whose carriages had been destroyed 
by Major Anderson upon his movement from Fort Moultrie to 
Fort Sumter, The batteries upon Sullivan's islarjd were com- 



428 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



manded by Lieutenant-Colonel R. S. Ripley, an able and experi- 
enced officer of artiller)', long an officer of the old army, and 
whose name and service became identified with the defense of 
Charleston Hartx)r until the last. "Of these batteries, three 
8-inch Columbiads, two 32-pounders and six 24-pounders in Fort 
Moultrie ; two 24-pounders and two 32-pounders in the enfilade 
batter}-; one 9-inch Dahlgren gun, two 32-pounders, two 42- 
pounders at the ' Point,' and on board the floating battery, and 
the six lo-inch mortars — bore upon Fort Sumter."* The fire 




iLUN GATE, SALLY-FORT OF GORGE, AFTER BOMBARDMENT OF 1S63. 



from Moultrie was at first wanting in precision, the shots passing 
over the work; but with the advancing daylight this was soon 
corrected, until almost ever}- shot took effect, either striking the 
scarp wall, or, passing closely over the crest, plunged into the 
quarters on the gorge wall opp)osite. These were soon destroyed. 
Projecting above the crest of the walls, the roofs and gables 
afforded the easiest marks, and were soon riddled by the shots. 



• Ripley's report, p. 39, " War of the Rebellion." Vol. I., Series I. 



FORT SUMTER OPEXS FIRE. 



429 



The fire was steadily kept up through the day and only lessened 
upon the approach of night. 

The enfilading and adjoining batteries at the north end of 
Sullivan's Island, under the comnjand of Capt. J. H. Hallonquist, 
opened fire early on the morning of the 12th and maintained it 
steadily through the day. Their fire was especially directed 
upon the parapet of Fort Sumter. The enfilading battery 
mounted two 32-pound and two 42-f>ound guns. It was this 
battery which was suddenly unmasked on the morning of the 9th 
of April, and which so impressed Major Anderson. Taking the 
most important battery upon the parapet in reverse, its guns were 
so actively worked, and at such short inten-als of fire, that six 
hundred and eleven shots were fired from it alone. " The object 
of our firing," said the officer who immediately commanded it,* 
in his official report, " was to sweep the crest of the parapet, the 
roofs of the quarters within Fort Sumter, to dismount the bar- 
bette guns, if practicable, and to drive the enemy from the 
parapet. The latter object was accomplished, "f 

The floating battery of Captain Hamilton, at the extreme 
northern end of the island, also opened promptly, and maintained 
its fire from its two 32 and two 42 pound guns, under the direct 
command of Lieutenant Yates, but with less effect than had been 
anticipated by the garrison. The mortar batteries upon Johnson 
and at Mount Pleasant were also served steadily, and added to 
the effective fire. To the fire of the two lo-inch mortars at 
Mount Pleasant no response was made by the garrison of Fort 
Sumter. 

It was not until 7 o'clock that Fort Sumter of>ened its 
fire. Its entire armament now consisted of forty-eight available 
guns in casemate and barbette, with five 8-inch and lo-inch 
Columbiads on the parade, and so mounted as to bear upon the 
city, Fort Moultrie and the batteries at Cummings Point. The 
details to serve the guns had been made from Captain Double- 
day's company. There were three. The first, commanded 
by Captain Doubleday in person, took position at the battery 
of the two 3 2 -pounders, in the right gorge angle on the lower 
tier, and which bore upon the batteries at Cummings Point. It 



* Lieurenant Jacob Valentine. 

t The troops were withdrawn from the parapet by Major Anderson' 
order, as will be subsequently seen. 



430 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

was the first to open fire, and one of its shots " passed a few feet 
above the upper bolts of the shed."* A constant and heavy 
fire was maintained all day, producing but little effect, the balls 
glancing harmlessly off the iron roof of the battery, that answered 
with its three 8-inch Columbiads effectively. This, with the 
1 2-pound rifled Blakeley, well served, together with the three 
lo-inch mortars of the Point battery and the two 42-pounders, 
poured their fire at regular intervals through the whole day upon 
the fort in answer to its guns. 

The second detail was under the command of First Lieutenant 
J. C. Davis. It manned the guns on the left of Doubleday.f 

The third detail was under the command of Assistant Surgeon 
Crawford. It manned the three 32-pounders on the western face 
of the work, and opened fire upon the floating battery at the upper 
end of Sullivan's Island, as well as upon the enfilading battery 
and heavy Dahlgren gun that had opened early and whose fire 
was sweeping the parapet. 

The effect of the fire upon the floating battery was slight. 
Nearly all of the shot failed to penetrate the roof, and were 
deflected; one only, striking the angle between the front and 
roof, penetrated through the iron covering and woodwork beneath. 
The sea wall behind which it had taken position protected its 
water line from our ricochet shots. This battery with its 
32-pounders, from which so much was expected on both sides, 
failed to realize the hopes or fears so long formed of it. Fail- 
ing to produce any sensible effects from his fire, the writer sought 
Major Anderson, and requested authority to move his command 
along the casemates on the right to a battery of one 42 and two 
32 pounders that bore directly upon Moultrie, whose fire had 
been steadily kept up upon the fort since the early opening of its 
guns and without reply from the fort. 

Major Anderson was in the magazine, whose exposed condL 
tion already caused him anxiety. He gave the requisite authority, 
and moving the men, fire was opened at once in reply to Moultrie, 
and maintained for four hours, when the writer was relieved by 
Lieutenant R. K. Meade, who continued the fire until night 



* Captain Cuthbert, South Carolina Infantry. Official report, p. 54, 
"War of the Rebellion," Vol. I, Series i. 

\ There is no record of this service. 



DETAILS OF THE BOMBARDMENT. 



431 



Meantime, Captain Seymour relieved Doubleday at the batteries 
and maintained their fire for several hours. 

A few shots were fired at the mortar batteries at Fort Johtwon 
by Captain Seymour, but with no appreciable effect. It was now 
noon. The constant fire of the fort had largely reduced the 
number of cartridges. There were but seven hundred when the 
fire began, and the six needles were kept busy in their manufac- 
ture, but the supply was now so reduced that the fire of the fort 
slackened, and was at last confined to six guns: two bearing upon 
Cummings Point, two upon Moultrie and two upon the batteries 
upon the western end of Sullivan's Island. The effect of the verti- 
cal fire of the mortars, and of the enfilading batteries upon the para- 
pet, was so soon manifested that Anderson determined not to serve 
the guns en barbette at all. He took, he said, the whole respon- 
sibility, and would not expose his men to a fire in reverse that 
would be fatal. The men were at once withdrawn from the par- 
apet by Anderson's order. And thus the long toil and engineering 
care expended upon the erection of the most formidable battery 
in the fort, and whose construction was wholly in reference to the 
array of heavy armament at Cummings Point, was lost. The 
guns thus left to the sport of the enemy's fire were the heaviest in 
calibre, and must if properly served have produced a serious 
effect. 

The men displayed great enthusiasm, and even the workmen 
caught the spirit of the hour and helped to serve the guns. After 
the abandonment of the casemate by Doubleday' s command, by 
Anderson's order, a party of the workmen who had been watch- 
ing the firing, voluntarily took possession of the battery and 
renewed the fire on Cummings Point, when they were '' organ- 
ized into a firing party." 

Knowing that the guns on the parapet were loaded and 
trailed, one of the men made his way to them, and without 
orders fired them.* In the discharge of one lo-inch Columbiad, 
the proper arrangements for controlling the recoil of the piece 
were neglected, and running back off its chassis it entirely over- 
turned, dismounting an 8-inch seacoast howitzer next to it and 
adding greatly to the appearance of destruction produced by the 
fire. The rapid fire from Moultrie dismounted one 8-inch 



* Private Carmody, Co. E. 



432 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



Columbiad and cracked another on the right flank of the work in 
the barbette tier. The fire from the enemy's mortars upon the 
parapet, and especially that from the enfilading battery and from 
the " Sumter battery " of Moultrie, besides silencing the guns en 
barbette, completely riddled the officers' quarters above the lowest 
story. Three times the quarters were set on fire by shells from 
Cummings Point and by hot shot from Moultrie, but this was 
promptly extinguished, and mainly by the active co-operation of 
Sergeant Peter Hart, an old soldier who had seen service with 
Anderson as first sergeant, and had come to him voluntarily and 
was now employed as a workman by the engineer. 

The enemy's shots had cut the iron cisterns over the hallways, 
and the rush of water aided in controlling the fire. It was now 
first made known to us that the fleet so earnestly looked for had 
arrived, and their flags could be seen as they lay off the bar. 

Upon the approach of night the enemy slackened his fire, and 
finally reduced it to his mortars, which fired at intervals of fifteen 
minutes, and with great precision, through the night, which passed 
in storm and with high wind and tide. The men were withdrawn 
from the batteries, as the scarcity of the cartridges forbade any 
service of the guns through the night. 

At midnight the making of cartridges was stopped by Major 
Anderson, as nearly all of the extra clothing and material from 
the hospital had been used. 

At the request of Lieutenant Snyder, the writer, just before 
midnight, accompanied him upon an inspection of the outside of 
the work. Everywhere, but especially upon the wall of the 
gorge, and on the faces opposite to Fort Moultrie, were deep 
indentations made by the solid shot. That from the 8-inch 
Columbiad had penetrated about twelve inches, crumbling the 
bricks and leaving a wide crater. The twelve-pound projectile 
from the rifled gun had penetrated but little deeper, but its fire 
was more accurate, and the attempt to breach around the lower 
embrasure of the right gorge angle had progressed to a depth of 
twenty inches and must in the end have succeeded. Some of the 
hastily constructed devices of the engineers had yielded to the 
enemy's fire ; a shot having passed through the filling of one of 
the embrasures of the second tier and one through the main gate. 
But the resistance of the fort was unaffected : its walls were intact, 
its casemates uninjured, and its lower tier of guns untouched. 



EFFECT OF THE FIRST DA Y'S BOMBARDMENT. 4 -^ -^ 



:i:) 



The parapet had suifered most ; it had been undefended, and, in 
the destruction of the projecting roofs and chimneys, the crum- 
bHng of its walls and the injury to its guns, presented a picture of 
havoc and ruin. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

Mortar firing through the night — Anticipating the fleet— Heavy firing opened 
in the morning — Fort Sumter replies "early and spitefully"— Scarcity of 
cartridges— Fire restricted in consequence— Quarters set on fire by shells 
and hot shot — Increased fire of the batteries — Fort threatened with explosion 
— Magazines closed- -Flames spread — Woodwork consumed — Flagstaff 
shot away — Flag restored at once -Colonel Wigfall crosses in small boat 
from Cummings Point— His visit unauthorized — Enters the fort — Interview 
with Major Anderson — Terms of evacuation proposed— Major Anderson 
consents — Wigfall departs — White flag raised — Three aides of Confederate 
general come to fort under white flag — Interview with Anderson — Aides 
return to Charleston^Wigfall's visit without knowledge of Confederate 
general — " Formal and final terms" presented — Anderson accepts— Con- 
dition of the fort — Effect of the fire upon it — Casualties slight— Four men 
wounded — Salute to the flag permitted — Serious explosion, and result — 
State troops take possession — Captain Ferguson, aide-de-camp to com- 
manding general, raises Confederate flag over the work — Garrison trans- 
ferred to the steamer Baltic, which leaves for the North. 

The night closed in rain and darkness; the wind from the sea 
blew in storm. The men rested undisturbed, while an anxious 
and expectant watch was kept in anticipation of the relief prom- 
ised, but which failed to appear. The enemy were equally upon 
the alert, and through the night his batteries guarding the chan- 
nels were manned, and a ceaseless watch kept upon the approaches 
to the harbor, while his enfilading batteries were kept in readiness 
to sweep the landings and faces of Fort Sumter should any force 
attempt to succor the garrison. The light wood upon the hulks 
that had been anchored at the entrance to the inner harbor, under 
the guns of Fort Moultrie, was now ignited in anticipation of the 
approach of the fleet, while the fire of the mortar batteries was kept 
up at intervals of fifteen minutes through the night, which passed 
without further incident. 

Early in the morning of the 13th the firing was renewed. 

In anticipation of a movement of the fleet, and to save ammuni- 
tion, the firing from Sullivan's Island was at first confined to the 
mortars and enfilading battery. The direct fire of Fort Moultrie 
was restricted to two of the guns of the Sumter battery, until the 

434 



SECOND DAY'S BOMBARDMENT. 435 

fire broke out at Sumter, when the entire battery was manned and 
served. At Cummings Point the mortar batteries opened early, and 
maintained their fire steadily at regular intervals, while the fire 
of the heavy Columbiads in the Iron-clad battery was concen- 
trated to breach the work as well as to destroy the granite defenses 
of the main gate. 

"Fort Sumter opened early and spitefully," said the com- 
mander of Fort Moultrie, in his official report, " and paid especial 
attention to Fort Moultrie, almost every shot grazing the crest of 
the parapet and crushing through the quarters. ' ' After their limited 
breakfast of pork and the last of the damaged rice, the details 
went again to their guns. Those bearing upon " Cummings Point" 
were not served, the guns in the casemates bearmg upon the 
inner channel and upon Fort Moultrie being the only ones used. 
A rapid and accurate fire was maintained for hours, when the sup- 
ply of cartridges became so much diminished as to restrict the 
fire to one gun every ten minutes. Before 8 o'clock the offi- 
cers' quarters had been twice set on fire by the mortar shells; the 
flames had been promptly extinguished, when between 9 and 
10 the fire was renewed from the same cause, and was being 
again controlled, when Moultrie opened with hot shot, which was 
poured into the fort, spreading the conflagration and greatly add- 
ing to the destruction. Every battery around the fort now 
increased its fire, and Major Anderson forbade any further 
attempt to control the flames, which were now spreading m every 
direction through the wooden floors and partitions of the quarters. 
It spread to both barracks and quarters, and by noon all of the 
woodwork was in flames. The officers, seizing the axes that were 
available, exerted themselves in cutting away whatever wood- 
work was accessible. It soon became evident that the magazine 
with its 300 barrels of powder was in danger of the flames, and 
every man that could be spared was placed upon the duty of 
removing the powder, toward which the fire was gradually pro- 
gressing, now separated from the magazine by only one set of 
quarters. Not a third of the barrels could be removed; so thick 
was the cloud of smoke and burning cinders, that penetrated every- 
where, that a cause of serious danger arose from the exposed 
condition of the powder taken from the magazine, and Major An- 
derson now ordered that all but five barrels be thrown into the sea. 

The men, almost suffocated as the south wind carried the cloud 



436 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



, " i 'I ° 

I / \}A I, u »;■ 

f iff ,' \^ f '■' t 

> r I 




DETAILS OF SECOND DA Y'S BOMBARDMENT. 



437 



of hot smoke and cinders into the casemates, threw themselves 
upon the ground and covered their faces with wet cloths, or 
rushed to the embrasures, where the occasional draught made it 
possible to breathe. The enemy maintained his increased fire. 
The nine-inch shells which had been filled, and located in differ- 
ent parts of the work, to be used as grenades in repelling an 
assault, now exploded from time to time as the fire spread, adding 
greatly to the danger and destruction. 

A large number had been placed in the towers on the spiral 
staircase of granite. They exploded, completely destroying these 
structures at the west .gorge angle, as well as the interior of the 
other. It was at this moment that the writer, in obedience to 
Anderson's orders, had ascended to the parapet to report any move- 
ment of the fleet. It was with the greatest difficulty that he 
could make his way amid the destruction and reach the parapet at 
all. The fleet had made no movement. 

The magazines were now closed, when a shot from the enemy's 
batteries "passed through the intervening shield, struck the door, 
and bent the lock in such a way that it could not be opened 
again." 

For some time our batteries had ceased even their restricted 
fire, when some single shots were fired by Doubleday, and were 
answered by cheers from the enemy. 

The scene was wellnigh indescribable. It was now noon. 
The enemy's fire from his mortars and gun batteries had been so 
increased that there was scarcely an appreciable moment that 
shot and shell were not searching the work. The flames of the 
burning quarters were still spreading, shooting upward amid the 
dense smoke as heavy masses of brick and masonry crumbled, 
and fell with loud noise. All of the woodwork had now been 
consumed. The heavy gates at the entrance of the work, as well 
as the planking of the windows on the gorge, were gone, leaving 
access to the fort easy and almost unobstructed. 

In the midst of the fire, the flag-staff, which had borne the flag 
since the demand for the surrender, having been repeatedly struck, 
was shot away at 1 130 p. m. and fell heavily to the ground, it being 
down but a few moments, and, in the words of Major Anderson, 
** merely long enough to enable us to replace it on another staff,"* 



Anderson, April 13, 1861, 



4: 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



The flag halliards had been cut, and the flag itself had been sus- 
tained by one only, that had become twisted around the staff. Upon 
the disappearance of the flag the enemy slackened his fire. It 
was at once secured by Lieutenant Hall, and attached to a 
short spar brought promptly by Sergeant Hart and carried to the 
parapet, where under the superintendence of Captain Seymour, 
assisted by Lieutenant Snyder and Sergeant Hart, it was again 

"'3,'— "^^.f.. 







INSIDE OF ONE OF THE MAGAZINES, FORT SUMTER. 



raised and the temporary staff secured to a gun-carriage on the 
parapet amid the renewed and concentrated fire of the enemy's 
guns. 

Meantime a group of officers had been watching the progress 
of the bombardment and its effect upon the fort from the Iron- 
clad battery at Cummings Point, when one of them, Lieutenant- 
Colonel De Saussure, the officer commanding the artillery orj 



COLONEL WIGFALL GOES TO FORT SUMTER. 439 

Morris Island, suggested that, from the silence of the fort, the 
spread of the flames, as well as the evident effect of their fire, 
they should send and inquire into the status of the garrison as a 
matter of humanity. Brigadier-General James Simons, com- 
manding upon the island, was present, but objected to such a 
course, as beyond the scope of his authority, as well as from the 
fact that he had no one whom he could send. Upon this, an aide- 
de-camp of General Beauregard (Colonel Louis Wigfall), who 
had been with the batteries for two days, at once volunteered for 
the service. Upon consultation with Colonel Manning and Colo- 
nel Chesnut, two aides of the commanding general, who, with 
Colonel Chisholm, of Governor Pickens's staff, had come to the 
island to learn the condition of the batteries and to establish 
communication with the city,* the general commanding upon 
the island reluctantly gave the authority. Colonel Wigfall anti- 
cipated the action of the aides, who, seeing the flag of the fort down, 
had determined to renew the demand for the surrender. Their 
boat was being prepared, when Colonel Wigfall, securing a skiff in a 
creek near by, and joined by private Gourdin Young, of the com- 
pany of the Palmetto Guard on duty on the Iron-clad battery, 
with two negroes as oarsmen, pushed off at once amid the firing 
for Fort Sumter. Colonel Ripley, in Fort Moultrie, seeing the boat 
push off, fired a shot across her bow, which she disregarded, 
when, continuing her course, she finally reached the wharf of the 
fort. Seeing no one, and finding the entrance to the fort obstruc- 
ted by the burning ashes. Colonel Wigfall went alone around 
the enrockment to the left face of the work. Meantime, Ander- 
son being informed of the arrival of the boat with a white flag 
by a private soldier that had seen it land, passed out of the fort 
through the blazing gateway, accompanied by Lieutenant Snyder, 
who followed Colonel Wigfall around the work. Arriving near 
an embrasure on the left flank, where a sentinel was standmg, 
Colonel Wigfall displayed his white flag upon his sword, and said 
he wished to see Major Anderson, when after some discussion he 
was permitted to enter. The writer saw him enter the work, 
Lieutenant Snyder entering after him. He at once asked for 
Major Anderson, saying that General Beauregard desired to stop 
"this firing." In passing down the casemates some of the 



• Simons, p. 33, "War of the Rebellion," Vol. I, Series i, 



440 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

officers were met, and to them Colonel Wigfall at once appealed. 
"Your flag is down," said he, "you are on fire, and you are not 
firing your guns. General Beauregard desires to stop this," and 
he proposed that a white flag be displayed towards Moultrie, as 
the batteries on Cummings Point, from which he had come, had 
ceased firing. "No, sir," said Lieutenant Davis, "our flag is 
not down; if you will step this way you will see it floating." He 
then said, " Let us stop this firing. Will you hoist this ? " hold- 
ing out his sword, to which he had attached his handkerchief. 
"No;" said Davis, "it is for you to stop it." "Will no one 
hold it ? " said Wigfall. Receiving no response, he sprang into 
an embrasure looking toward Moultrie, that was keeping up 
a steady fire, and waved his flag backward and forward without 
attracting attention, so great was the distance. Upon seeing 
this Lieutenant Davis said, " As you have put the flag out your- 
self, I will let one of the soldiers continue to hold it;" and direct- 
ed a corporal, who stood near, to continue to wave it. He had 
hardly been in the embrasure a moment, when a shot struck just 
over himi, when springing back inside he announced with an oath, 
that the flag was not respected. "I have been fired upon with 
that flag two or three times, ' ' replied Wigfall ; "I think you might 
stand it once."* 

It was at this moment that Anderson came up, when Colonel 
Wigfall immediately addressed him. " Major Anderson, I am 
Colonel Wigfall; General Beauregard wishes to stop this, and to ask 
upon what terms you will evacuate this work; you can have almost 
any terms which General Beauregard will arrange with you." Major 
Anderson replied: " I have already stated to General Beauregard 
the terms upon which I will evacuate this fort. Instead of noon 
on the 15th, I will go now." " Then, Major Anderson, I understand 
that you will evacuate the fort upon the same terms proposed to 
you by General Beauregard." " Yes, sir," replied Anderson," and 
upon those terms alone." " Then," said Colonel Wigfall, inquir- 
ingly," the fort is to be ours ?" "Yes," replied Major Anderson, 
upon those terms." "Very well; then I will return to General 
Beauregard. ' ' 

The conditions for the evacuation were gone over. Anderson 
was to evacuate the fort with his command, taking arms and all pri- 



* Personal observation and record. 



WIG FALL'S VISIT UNAUTHORIZED. 441 

vate and company property, saluting his flag upon taking it down, 
and transportation secured to any port in the North. After some 
appreciative remarks in regard to the defense, Colonel Wigfall left 
the fort, when the flag was taken down and a white flag raised by 
Anderson's order, when the firing entirely ceased. Colonel Wigfall 
returned at once in his boat to Cummings Point, where the com- 
mand received him with enthusiasm, and to whom he announced, 
although mistakenly, the unconditional surrender of the fort. 
The aides of the general commanding had awaited his coming, 
when he accompanied them at once in their boat on their return to 
Charleston. 

The visit of Colonel Wigfall was wholly unauthorized. It was 
a voluntary act, not to be justified even by the exigency. But he 
gave Anderson to understand that he came from and upon the 
part of the general commanding the opposing forces, and upon 
that representation alone was he received. He had scarcely left 
the fort, when a boat containing three aides-de-camp* of the 
commanding general came, under a white flag. 

The commanding general had noticed the absence of the flag 
and the burning of the quarters, and had sent to offer assistance. 
On their way to the fort they recognized that the flag had again 
been raised on Sumter, and were about to return, when the white 
flag was again seen, and they pushed on. Anderson declined any 
assistance, and then inquired if they had come directly from Gen- 
eral Beauregard. Upon being answered in the affirmative, he 
then gave the incident of the visit of Colonel Wigfall, "as an aide 
to and by authority of General Beauregard," and as authorized to 
propose terms for the evacuation. He was then informed that 
Colonel Wigfall had been absent from headquarters, and had not 
seen General Beauregard for two days. Vexed at the misunder- 
standing and the awkward position in which he found himself, 
Anderson determined to restore his flag, that he regretted had 
ever been taken down, and to re-open his batteries, that his flag 
was lowered only because he had understood Wigfall to come 
directly from Beauregard. But he was persuaded to postpone any 
such action until General Beauregard could be advised of the 
terms to which he would consent. Meantime he reduced to writing 
the terms proposed by Colonel Wigfall and those upon which he 



Captam S, D. Lee, Colonels Roger A. Pryor and W. Pgrcher Miles, 



442 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

would evacuate the fort, and sent it to General Beauregard by 
Captain S. D. Lee, one of the aides.* 

The visit of Colonel Wigfall, and its purpose, had been com- 
municated to General Beauregard, who at once sent two ofificersf 
of his staff " to receive any propositions he might wish to make." 
The note sent by Anderson to General Beauregard by Captain 
Lee was read, when the officers informed Anderson that they 
" were authorized to offer him those terms, excepting only the 
clause relating to the salute to the flag," and this they were not 
authorized to grant. When asked what his answer would be if 
not permitted to salute his flag, he replied that he would not urge 
it, but would refer the matter again to General Beauregard. At 
this interview a message was sent by Anderson to Governor 
Pickens and to General Beauregard, which under the circumstan- 
ces may be deemed extraordinary. It was that, "as an evidence 
of his desire to save the public property as much as possible, he 
had three times on Friday and twice on Saturday sent up his men 
to extinguish the flames under the heavy fire of our batteries, and 
when the magazines were in imminent danger of being blown up." J. 

The formal and final terms agreed to by the general com- 
manding, were presented to Anderson by some messengers from 
General Beauregard at 7 o'clock p. m., in regard to which 



* An incident now occurred which might have had a serious ending. The 
aides of the Confederate general had been introduced into the only gun case- 
mate which was habitable, and which was occupied as quarters by Laptain 
Foster and the surgeon ol the fort. Colonel Roger A. Pryor, one of the aides, 
had taken his seat near a table at the head of the camp-bed occupied by the 
surgeon. The latter had been seriously ill, and was under the course of a 
strong medicine that stood in a large bottle upon the table. Without reflection 
Colonel Pryor poured out a large portion ol the medicine and drank it. Dis- 
covering his mistake, he appealed at once to Major Anderson, who, in an a^gle 
of the casemate was writing down the terms upon which he would agree to 
evacuate the work. The surgeon was at once sent for, when Colonel Pryor 
rapidly recounted the circumstances, when the surgeon said to him, " If you 
have taken the amount of that solution that you think you have, you have likely 
poisoned yourself." " Do something for me, doctor, right off," said he, "for 
I would not have anything happen to me in this fort for any consideration." 
The surgeon took him to his impr vised dispensary down the line of casemates, 
where he was shortly afterward relieved and returned to the city. 

t I). R.Jones, Assistant Adjutant-General; Charles Allston, Jr., Colonel 
and aide-de-ramp. 

f Official report, Jones and Allston, April 15, 1861. 



EFFECT OF THE BOMBARDMENT AT THE FORT. 



44: 



Anderson expressed his gratification; and it was arranged that he 
should leave in the morning, after communicating with the fleet, 
but that he must be responsible for the fort in the meantime, as 
otherwise four companies of artillery would be ordered there. 
After the cessation of the firing the fort was left in comparative 
quiet, and an opportunity offered to examine its condition. It 
was a scene of ruin and destruction. For thirty- four hours it had 
sustained a bombardment from seventeen lo-inch mortars and 
heavy guns, well placed and well served. The quarters and 
barracks were in ruins. The main gates and the planking of the 
windows on the gorge were gone ; the magazines closed and 
surrounded by smoldering flames and burning ashes ; the provi- 
sions exhausted; much of the engineering work destroyed; the 
cartridges gone; and with four barrels of powder only available — 
the command had yielded to the inevitable. The effect of the 
direct shot had been to indent the walls, where the marks could 
be counted by hundreds,* while the shells well directed had 
crushed in the quarters, and, in connection with the hot shot, set- 
ting them on fire, had destroyed the barracks, and quarters down 
to the gun casemates, while the enfilading fire had prevented the 
service of the barbette guns, some of them comprising the most im- 
portant battery in the work. The breaching fire from the Colum- 
biads and rifled gun at Cummings Point upon the right gorge 
angle had progressed sensibly, and must eventually have succeed- 
ed if kept up, but as yet no guns had been disabled or injured at 
that point. The effect of the fire upon the parapet was most 
pronounced. The gorge, the right face and flank, as well as the 
left face, were all taken in reverse and a destructive fire main- 
tained until the end, while the gun-carriages on the barbette of 
the gorge were destroyed in the fire of the blazing quarters. 

Fort Sumter had been built with all the careful appliance of 
the most improved engineer science. Its beautiful arches were 
models of strength and grace; and it was with natural pride that 
the engineer officer in his official report remarked upon the fact 
that so good was the masonry of one of the fifteen-inch arches of 
the second tier, that a lo-inch shell from Cummings Point failed 
to go through it, although it was not covered by concrete or flag^ 
ging- 

* 600. Foster, 



444 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 




SUBSTANTIAL PART OF FORT UNINJURED. 44 c 

But the fort had been constructed without reference to an 
attack by those who should have been its defenders, and in con- 
sequence its weakest part, the gorge, undefended by a flanking 
fire, became its most vuhierable pomt, and its destruction the 
object of the able engineer who conducted the attack upon the 
work. Its walls, standing upon a stone foundation twelve feet 
thick at the base, and lessening to eight and a half feet at the 
parapet, were built to resist smooth-bore projectiles, which at that 
time was the adopted system; but strong as they were, they showed 
how little fitted such construction was to resist rifled ordnance 
when the twelve-pounder Blakely gun from Cummings Point put 
one of its shot through the masked wall of the magazine. But 
the offensive strength of the fort was not felt. The powerful bat- 
tery upon the barbette bearing upon the batteries on Cummings 
Point was not used, although to its erection and completion the 
.best efforts of officers and men had been given. The heavy 
Columbiads mounted upon the parade and bearing upon the city. 
Fort Moultrie and Cummings Point were not once loaded, and 
the hot shot furnaces remained untouched. The guns of the lower 
tier were the only ones used, and the strength of the casemates 
protected the men serving them, while they remained uninjured to 
the last. Had the garrison been sufficient in numbers, and sup- 
plied with men and provisions, and proper munitions, the resistance 
could have been greatly protracted. The substantial part of the 
fort was uninjured, and its subsequent history showed to what an 
extent a resistance supported by men and material, and sustained 
by intelligence and determination, might be sucessfully carried, 
when the crumbling of its walls under a fierce bombardment only 
served to strengthen its defensive power. From the result of the 
bombardment, it is clear that the projecting roofs and gables 
about the parapet should have been removed. The heavy mold- 
ings about the windows and doors of the officers' quarters, unneces- 
sary and in bad taste, only afforded fuel to the fire. The almost 
destitute condition of its little garrison rendered the evacuation of 
the fort unavoidable. Within a few days, if not hours, the fort 
must have surrendered if no gun had been fired, and it must be 
left to history to account for the fact that while such an 
assurance was positive, any necessity for such an attack should 
have existed beyond the gratification of a sentiment. Notwith- 
standing the persistence and accuracy of the fire to which the fort 



446 TH^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

had been subjected, the casualties were light. Four men were 
slightly wounded by fragments of concrete and mortar, one of 
these a mechanic in the employ of the engineer. Anderson had 
promptly withdrawn his men from all exposure, and the protection 
afforded by the casemates was almost complete. 

The men, released now from all responsibility, seemed to 
change in feeling. They became reserved and silent. The 
enthusiasm that had so long inspired them seemed to have gone, 
and they made ready to leave with unconcealed expressions of 
disappointment. 

But little now remained to be done. It had been arranged 
that the fort should be evacuated on Sunday morning, the 14th. 
The preparations began at an early hour. Permission to salute 
his flag had been accorded to him, and Anderson made arrange- 
ments to fire one hundred guns. Every resource to obtain mate- 
rial for cartridges was exhausted, and when the command was in 
readiness the firing began under the officers designated, the flag 
still flying from the rampart. The guns yet serviceable on the 
parapet were used, and the firing was in progress, when, by the 
premature discharge of one of the large guns on the right flank, 
the right arm of one of the gunners was blown off. The wind 
was blowing stiffly from the sea, and directly into the muzzles of 
the guns. The cartridges to be used had been placed by the 
side of each gun, amid the debris of broken brick and mason 
work and fragments of slate and lead in a confused mass. 
Upon one of the discharges an ignited fragment of one of the 
cartridge bags was blown back by the wind, and lighting upon the 
pile of cartridges in rear of the piece, immediately ignited them 
with fatal explosion. The loose fragments of masonry were 
driven in every direction. Of the gunners on duty at the piece, 
Private Daniel Hough, Co. E,was instantly killed; Private Edward 
Galloway, Co. E, was mortally wounded, and died on the 19th, 
at the Gibbes Hospital in Charleston, to which he had been 
kindly removed and treated. Private James Fielding, Co. E, 
severely wounded and burned, was removed to the " Chis- 
holm " Hospital, cured, and finally sent North without exchange. 
Three others were injured, but were enabled to accompany the 
command. The occurrence of this accident delayed the depart- 
ure of the command, and induced Anderson to satisfy himself 
with a salute of fifty instead of one hundred guns. ." Because of 



GENERAL BEAUREGARD'S REPORT. 



447 



an unavoidable delay," said General Beauregard, in his official 
report, " the formal transfer of the fort to our possession did not 
take place until 4 o'clock on the afternoon of the 14th, when the 
United States troops evacuated the place." 

The State troops detailed to occupy the work now took pos- 
session. They consisted of the Palmetto Guard, under Captain 
Cuthbert, and a company (B) of regular troops, under Captain 
Hallonquist, all under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Ripley. The Confederate flag was raised upon the rampart by 
Captain Samuel Ferguson, aide-de-camp, who had received the 
keys of the work. The flag of the State was also raised at the 
same time. 

In making his preliminary report to his Government, the Con- 
federate general used the following language: 

"Whilst the barracks in Fort Sumter were in a blaze, and the 
interior of the work appeared untenable from the heat and from 
the fire of our batteries (at about which period I sent three of my 
aides to offer assistance in the name of the Confederate States), 
whenever the guns of Fort Sumter would fire upon Fort Moultrie 
the men occupying Cummings Pomt batteries (Palmetto Guard, 
Captain Cuthbert) at each shot would cheer Anderson for his 
gallantry, although themselves still firing upon him; and when on 
the 15th instant he left the harbor on the steamer Isabelt)\& soldiers 
of the batteries on Cummings Point lined the beach, silent, and 
with heads uncovered, while Anderson and his command passed 
before them, and expressions of scorn at the apparent cowardice 
of the fleet in not even attempting to rescue so gallant an officer 
and his command were upon the lips of all. With such material 
for an army, if properly disciplined, I would consider myself 
almost invincible against any forces not too greatly superior. 

"The fire of those barracks was only put out on the 15th 
instant, p. m., after great exertions by the gallant fire companies 
of this city, who were at their pumps night and day, although 
aware that close by them was a magazine filled with thirty thou- 
sand pounds of powder, with a shot-hole through the wall of its 
anteroom." 

By Anderson's orders the men were formed upon the parade, 
and marched out under Doubleday with their flags, the drums 
beating the national air. A large crowd had collected on vessels 
and steamers and in boats, and had surrounded the fort to witness 



448 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

its evacuation. Great enthusiasm prevailed as the command 
embarked upon the boat that was to convey them to the 
steamer. Owing to the accident, their departure had been 
delayed — the surgeon of the fort remaining until the last, in attend- 
ance upon the mortally wounded man, who expired — until near 
sundown, when it was too late to cross the bar. Early on the 
morning of the 15 th the steamer proceeded to the bar, where the 
entire command was transferred to the Baltic, where every atten- 
tion was shown to them by the officers of the fleet. The Baltic 
was soon underway northward, and as she put to sea the men 
lingered upon her deck until the receding fort had sunk upon the 
horizon 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Return of the garrison of Fort Sumter to New York — Their separation for ser- 
vice — Their individual careers in the war — Present condition of the fort - 
Wholly changed in appearance and in its armament— Main defense of the 
harbor. 

A QUARTER of a - ccntury has now passed away, since the 
events related in the preceding pages took place, and it may be 
of interest to trace the record of the officers whose accidental 
position brought them so prominently into view at the very begin- 
nmg of the difficulties. Upon the evacuation of the fort, the 
transport Baltic, with the officers and men of the garrison of 
Fort Sumter, made its way to the North. As she entered the 
harbor of New York, the flag they had defended was placed at 
the fore as the vessel passed along amid the loud welcome of the 
people. It was now that Anderson made the only report he ever 
made of the attack upon the fort. His physical as well as his mental 
condition was such that he requested Captain G. V. Fox to write 
the despatch for him, which was accordingly done and telegraphed 
to Washington upon the arrival of the ship. It was as follows: 

"Steamship Baltic, off Sandy Hook, 
** April 1 8, 1 86 1, 10:30 a. m., via New York. 
" Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-four hours, until 
the quarters were entirely burned, the main gates destroyed by 
fire, the gorge walls seriously impaired, the magazine surrounded 
by flames, and its door closed from the effects of the heat, four 
barrels and three cartridges of powder only being available, and 
no provisions remaining but pork, I accepted terms of evacuation 
offered by General Beauregard (being the same offered by him 
on the 11th instant, prior to the commencement of hostilities), 
and marched out of the fort on Sunday afternoon, the 14th 
instant, with colors flying and drums beating, bringing away 
company and private property, and saluting my flag with fifty 
guns. 

"Robert Anderson, Major First Artillery. 
" Hon, Simon Cameron, Secretary of War. 
"Washington, D. C." 

Upon their arrival they were received with an enthusiasm and 

449 



450 



THE GENESIS OF 'I HE CIVIL WAR. 



demonstration seldom exceeded and wholly exceptional, and the 
interest then manifested by the generous heart of New York con- 
tinued to follow them through their subsequent service. In the 
issues of the fiercely contested war that followed the firing upon 
their fort, they were temporarily lost to view, as each one fol- 
lowed the career incidental to his position, and they parted not to 
meet again until its close. Widely separated, they served mainly 
in different armies, and in every section of the country; and, with 
the exception of Major Anderson himself, in every condition of 
active service. On the 20th of April, by the direction of the 
President, the following communication was made by the War 
Department to the officers and men : 

"War Department, 
"Washington, April 20, 1801 ^ 
" Major Robert Anderson, 

'■'■Late Comtnanding at Fort Sumter. 
'•'■My Dear Sir: I am directed by the President of the United 
States to communicate to you, and through you to the officers 
and the men under your command, at Forts Moultrie and Sum- 
ter, the approbation of the Government of your and their judi- 
cious and gallant conduct there, and to tender to you and them 
the thanks of the Government for the same. 
"I am, sir, very respectfully, 

" Simon Cameron, 

'■'Secretary of War.'' 

Of the ofificers of Fort Sumter one alone failed in his allegi- 
ance: Second Lieutenant R. K. Meade, Corps of Engineers, who 
had distinguished himself in his service at Fort Sumter, and who 
had commanded a battery during the bombardment, resigned his 
position upon the secession of Virginia, to follow the fortunes of 
his State. He was on duty in the fortifications of Richmond, 
and falling ill, he died in July, 1861. Of the ten ofificers of the 
garrison of Fort Sumter, six rose to the position of general officers, 
and exercised active command, from the brigade to the corps. 
But three survive. 

Major Anderson was made a brigadier-general in the regular 
army, and " was soon after sent to his native State, Kentucky, to 
assist in organizing and directing the Union element there." He 
was subsequently placed in command of the Department of the 
Cumberland. His health failing, he was relieved from duty 
shortly afterward, and in October, 1863, he was, at his own 



EFFECT OF BOMBARDMENT, iSdi. 



451 




452 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



request, placed upon the retired list of the army. He traveled 
abroad, his health continuing to fail him, when on the 27th of 
October, 1871, he died at Nice, Italy. He was brevetted "a 
major-general for gallant and meritorious service in Charleston 
Harbor." 

Captain J. G. Foster, the senior engineer officer, a native of New 
Hampshire, was tendered the position of major of the Eleventh 
United States Infantry shortly after the return of the command 
from Fort Sumter, which he declined. He was shortly afterward 
appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers, and was engaged in 
the Roanoke Island expedition and the capture of Newbern. He 
rose to the rank of major-general of Volunteers, and was assigned 
to the command of the Department of Virginia and North Caro- 
lina; subsequently, for a short period, to the command of the 
Army and the Department of the Ohio, and finally to that of the 
South and of Florida, serving through the war. He was brevetted 
major in the regular army for the distinguished part taken by him 
in the transfer of the garrison of Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, 
and lieutenant-colonel and colonel for gallant and meritorious 
service at Roanoke Island and at Newbern. For the capture of 
Savannah he was brevetted a brigadier-general in the army, and 
major-general " for gallant and meritorious services in the field 
during the Rebellion." At the close of the war he returned to 
duty in his corps as lieutenant-colonel of engineers, and was 
upon temporary duty in Washington. He died on the 2d of 
September, 1874. 

First Lieutenant George W* Snyder, Corps of Engineers, who 
was in immediate charge of the work at Fort Sumter before the 
movement from Moultrie, remained on duty with his corps after 
the return of the command to the North. He was on duty in the 
fortifications of Washington, and as engineer of the third division 
of the Army of Northeastern Virginia, and participated in the 
first battle of Bull Run, or Manassas. For gallant and meritori- 
ous services at Fort Sumter he was brevetted captain in the regular 
army and major for similar service "in the Manassas campaign." 
While on duty near Washington he fell ill, and died on the 17th 
of November, 1861. 

Assistant Surgeon S. W. Crawford was appointed from Pennsyl- 
vania. After the return of the command from Fort Sumter to 
New York he was tendered the position of major in the Thir- 



SUBSEQUENT RECORD OF THE OFFICERS. 453 

teenth United States Infantry, which he finally accepted, and 
was ordered to duty under Major-General Rosecrans, then 
actively engaged in West Virginia. He served upon his staff 
as Inspector-General of the Department until the retreat of 
Floyd and the successful close of the campaign. He was one 
of the two officers named by General Rosecrans in response to a 
request from Washington for promotion to brigadier-general, and 
was assigned to duty in the Army of the Shenandoah. He was 
present at the second battle of Winchester, and commanded the 
advance to Culpepper and to Cedar Mountain, where in the attack 
upon the right he lost one-half of his brigade. His corps being 
incorporated with the Army of the Potomac, he was present at 
South Mountain, and commanded a division at the battle of 
Antietam after the death of General Mansfield — his corps com- 
mander — and where he was severely wounded. He rejoined the 
army on the march to Gettysburg, having been placed in com- 
mand of the Third Division of the Fifth Corps (Pennsylvania 
Reserves), participating in the battle upon the left of the line at 
the Round Tops. Upon the expiration of the term of service in 
this organization he was placed in command of the regiments of 
theold First Corps, then incorporated with the Fifth as the Third 
Division of that corps. This division he commanded through the 
Rapidan campaign, from Bethesda Church through the siege of 
Petersburg, the battle of Five Forks and the surrender of Lee's 
army at Appomattox. For "gallant and meritorious services 
at the battle of Gettysburg" he was brevetted colonel in the 
regular army; brigadier-general " for gallant and meritorious 
service at the battle of Five Forks; " major-general of volunteers 
" for conspicuous gallantry in the battles of the Wilderness, Spot- 
sylvania Court House, Jericho Mills, Bethesda Church, Petersburg 
and Globe Tavern (Weldon Railroad), and for faithful service in 
the campaign;" major-general in the regular army "for gallant 
and meritorious service in the field during the war." He became 
colonel of the Sixteenth United States Infantry in 1869, and 
upon the reduction of the army, which immediately followed, he 
was transferred to the Second Regiment of Infantry, and was 
assigned to duty at Huntsville, Ala., under the reconstruction 
act, for three years. His disability increasing, he made applica- 
tion for retirement, when he was retired by special enactment with 
the rank of brigadier-general (19th of February, 1873). 



454 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



Of the officers of the line, Captain Af)ner Doubleday, a 
native of New York, had been second in command at Fort Sum- 
ter. After its fall he was appointed major in the Seventeenth 
United States Infantry, and served in the Shenandoah Valley, 
and subsequently in the artillery defenses of Washington. Early 
in 1862 he was made a brigadier-general of Volunteers. In May 
he joined the army under General McDowell. He commanded 
a brigade, and subsequently a division, in the Army of the 
Potomac, at the second battle of Bull Run. His brigade soon 
after formed part of the Army of the Potomac, and with it he 
served at the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. In the 
latter action he commanded a division after the wounding of 
General Hatch. In November, 1862, he was made a major-gen- 
eral of Volunteers, and commanded a division of the First Corps 
at Fredericksburg under Burnside, and subsequently under 
Hatch at Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg he commanded the 
first corps of the army in the fight of the first day, when it sus- 
tained the fierce attack of the Confederate forces until overpow- 
ered. At the close of the war he assumed his position as lieu- 
tenant-colonel of his regiment. He became colonel of the Thirty- 
fifth United States Infantry, and was on duty in California and 
Texas, when from impaired health he retired from the active 
service of the army in December, 1873, oi"* ^^e lineal rank of 
colonel. After thirty years service he was brevetted lieutenant- 
colonel in the regular army "for gallant and meritorious service 
in the battle of Antietam;" colonel by brevet for gallant and 
meritorious service in the battle of Gettysburg ; brigadier and 
major general by brevet for gallant and meritorious service dur- 
ing the war. 

Brevet Captain Truman Seymour was a native of Vermont. 
He served in the defenses of Washington and as chief of artillery 
of McCall's division, in which he subsequently commanded a 
brigade. He was appointed a brigadier-general of Volunteers in 
April, 1862, and participated in the Peninsular campaign, the 
second battle of Bull Run, and in the campaign in Maryland at 
South Mountain and Antietam. Subsequently he served in the 
Department of the South as chief of staff and of artillery to the 
commanding general, and later in command of a division in the 
operations in Charleston Harbor. He commanded at the assault 
upon Fort Wagner, in July, 1863, where he was severely wounded, 



SUBSEQUENT RECORD OF LIEUTENANT DA VIS. 45 5 

In 1864 he was in command of the District of Florida and fought 
the battle of Olustee. Subsequently he commanded a brigade 
in the Army of the Potomac on the Rapidan, where he was 
captured. He rejoined the army upon being exchanged, and 
commanded a division at the siege of Petersburg and the capitu- 
lation of Lee's army at Appomattox C. H. For gallant and 
meritorious service during the defense of Sumter he was bre- 
vetted major in the regular army ; lieutenant-colonel and colonel 
for gallant and meritorious service at South Mountain and 
Antietam ; brigadier-general for gallant and meritorious service 
in the capture of Petersburg ; major-general of volunteers " for 
ability and energy in handling his division, and for gallantry 
and valuable service in action," and major-general in the regular 
army for "gallant and meritorious service during the war." In 
November, 1876, he was retired from the active service of the 
army with the lineal rank of major. 

First Lieutenant Jefferson C. Davis, born in Indiana, was ap- 
pointed colonel of the Twenty-second Indiana Volunteers, 1861, 
and participated in the campaigns in Missouri and Arkansas. In 
May, 1862, he was appointed a brigadier-general, and in the bat- 
tle of Stone River and the campaign against Chattanooga, and 
the actions of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and the opera- 
tions around Atlanta, he rendered valuable service. He marched 
in command of the Fourteenth Army Corps ''with Sherman to 
the sea," and was present at the capture of Savannah and the 
surrender of Johnson. He was subsequently in command of the 
Department of Kentucky, and finally of Alaska in 1867-70. All 
of the brevets conferred upon him were for gallantry in action. 
For gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Pea Ridge 
he was made major by brevet in the regular army. For similar 
conduct at the battles of Resaca and of Rome, in Georgia, he 
was made lieutenant-colonei and colonel by brevet, and both 
brigadier-general and brevet major-general in the regular army 
for gallant and meritorious conduct at the battles of Kenesaw 
Mountain and of Jonesboro, Ga. He became colonel of the 
Twenty-third infantry by regular promotion, and was on duty in 
Alaska, and continued in active service until the 30th of Novem- 
ber, 1879, when he died. 

First Lieutenant Theodore Talbot was appointed from Ken- 
tucky in 1847. He served in Fort Sumter as first lieutenant 



45^ 



THE GENESIS OF THE CiViL WAR, 




PRESENT CONDITION OF FORT SUMTER. 457 

of Captain Seymour's company ; an intelligent and able ofificer, 
he was employed by Major Anderson as the bearer of confidential 
despatches to Washington, but was refused permission by the South 
Carolina authorities to return to the fort. He was appointed Assis- 
tant Adjutant-General in the army on the 15th of March, 1861, 
while in Fort Sumter. He was chief of staff to General Mansfield, 
commanding the defenses of Washington, He became major in 
his corps, and while serving as chief of staff to General Wadsworth, 
Military Governor of the District of Columbia, he died, April 22, 
1862, He was brevetted captain and Assistant Adjutant-General, 
1 6th of March, 1861, and brevetted major in the same Depart- 
ment in July of same year. 

Second Lieutenant Norman J. Hall, who was Major Ander- 
son's adjutant at Fort Sumter, was a native of New York, and 
appointed from Michigan. After the fall of the work he was on 
duty with his regiment, when he was made Chief of Artillery of 
Hooker's Division, and served with the army of the Potomac in 
the Peninsular campaign, and m 1862 upon the staff of the com- 
manding general. He was appointed colonel of the Seventh 
Michigan Volunteers, which he commanded at Antietam, where 
he was brevetted captain in the regular army for gallant and 
meritorious services in that battle. He was made major by brevet 
for similar services at Fredericksburg. At the battle of Gettys- 
burg he rendered distinguished services while in command of a 
brigade, and was made lieutenant-colonel by brevet. Falling ill, 
he was discharged from the volunteer service on ** surgeon's 
certificate of disability" in 1864, and was finally retired from 
the active service of the army on the 2 2d of February, 1865, for 
disability resulting from long and faithful service, and disease 
contracted in the line of duty. In May, 1867, he died. 

Of the fort itself, but a semblance of its original structure 
remains, the requirements of modern warfare having wholly 
changed its character. Its lofty walls of fifty feet, enclosing its 
three tiers of guns, have been reduced to a low battery of half 
the size, with its loo-pounder guns in casemate, and a battery 
of ii-inch rifles upon its barbette. The walls in front of the 
gun casemates on the channel front still show the marks of 
Moultrie's fire. Its old armament has been replaced by a power- 
ful battery, which may yet be strengthened; its old barracks and 
quarters are gone and not replaced, while upon its restricted 



458 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



parade stand its bomb-proof magazines and its covered ways 
communicating with its tiers of guns. 

In its reconstruction, as in its original structure, the Govern- 
ment has been indifferent to any other purpose than that of secur- 
ing the defense of the harbor. 

More powerful than ever, it stands to-day, as it has ever stood, 
that main defense, as its brilliant history has abundantly shown. 
It commands by its guns the only approach by the new channel 
for ships of war, while above it and over the shores of the beauti- 
ful harbor of Charleston floats in peace the flag of the country 



APPENDIX I. 

Sources of Information. 

In my work I have had the valuable assistance of many dis- 
tinguished people. Documents of greater or less value have been 
placed in my hands by citizens representing both sides of the 
question. From the South I have exhaustively drawn, whenever 
information could be obtained, either from official or private 
sources. No application was ever made by me for authentic docu- 
ments bearing upon the transactions, to anyone in possession of 
them, without being met by a cordial and prompt acquiescence. 
No suggestion tending to bias my judgment was ever made to me; 
and, in placing the documents in my possession, the simple wish 
was expressed that the truth might be told. The course of the 
war, and its vicissitudes in South Carolina, the partial destruction 
of its principal city, and subsequently of its capital, the pillage of 
the public records in Columbia at a later date, together with the 
mutilation of what was left, rendered the compilation of any history 
from the public papers a very difficult task. What is now left of 
the minutes of the Executive Council of the State is but a frag- 
ment of what would otherwise have been a most valuable contri- 
bution to the history of the time. It is now impossible to compile 
from any public documents anything like a complete history of 
South Carolina. The proceedings of the Convention which passed 
the Ordinance of Secession, as also the official reports of its public 
men, were published at the period of their occurrence. Copies of 
these were secured shortly after the close of the war, and are now 
in my possession. Much, however, was in manuscripts and in 
private hands, either of the actors in the scene or their families. 
To these I have had access. Among the most valuable are those 
of the late Governor Francis W. Pickens. He was the chief figure 
of the early days of the revolution, and I desire here to acknowl- 
edge gratefully the action of her who generously placed in my 
hands the papers of her husband, "dthout reserve or imposition of a 
single obligation. 

459 



460 ^-^^ GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

While in command at Huntsville, Ala., in 1869-70 I was 
brought into association with General L. P. Walker, the first Sec- 
retary of War of the Confederacy, from whom I obtained much 
information of value. He placed in my hands the Official Letter- 
Book of the Confederate War Department from the beginning of 
the war, containing over 600 letters.* 

In the archives at Washington, with the exception of the War 
Department, there is no connected record of the events of this 
period, and scarcely a mention of the political complications in the 
matter of Fort Sumter in any of the Departments. 

The latter portion of Mr. Buchanan's administration has been 
portrayed in an important and valuable narrative written imme- 
diately after the war, by the Hon. W. H. Trescot, Assistant 
Secretary of State during Mr. Buchanan's administration. Con- 
spicuously prominent in the events, his able narrative is valuable 
as that of an eyewitness to the transactions, and much of it is 
given in his own graphic language. 

During two winters spent at York, Penn., I was admit- 
ted to the friendship of Judge J. S. Black, the Attorney-General, 
and subsequently the Secretary of State in Mr. Buchanan's Cabinet. 
To him, and to his son, Lieutenant-Governor C. F. Black, and to his 
clear and able views, I feel an indebtedness for assistance in my 
work that merits more than this mere acknowledgment. In many 
and exhaustive conversations, oft repeated, his wonderful memory 
still vigorous. Judge Black recalled the events of those days with 
a freshness equal almost to the written record. From the surviv- 
ors in Charleston and in the State I have received all the assist- 
ance they could render. It seems invidious to discriminate, 
yet I may be permitted to mention especially my great indebted- 
ness to Ex-Governor A. G. Magrath, Ex-Judge of the United 
States District Court, who was perhaps the most potential factor 
of the period, and who influenced its course at the moment of 



* Upon the breaking up of the Confederate Government at Richmond, in 
1865, one of the clerks of the War Department possessed himself of this " Letter- 
Book." Some years afterward he approached "Parson " Brownlow, of Ten- 
nessee, with an offer to transfer the book to him for $icx3. Parson Brownlow 
replied that he would not give 100 cents for all of the correspondence of the 
Confederacy; when the person in possession of the book offered it to Gen- 
eral L. P. Walker, who secured it and placed it in my hands. — General L. P. 
Walker to author, 1 87 1. 



SOURCES OF INFORMA TION. 46 I 

separation more than any other single person, as well as to R. B. 
Rhett, Jr., to the Hon. Isaac Hayne, to Colonel R. S. Simon- 
ton, to Edward McCready, Jr., to Mayor Courtenay, all of 
whom exerted themselves to the utmost to place me in posses- 
sion of all the facts in their knowledge. From General J. 
Holt, who was the Postmaster-General, and subsequently the 
Secretary of War of Mr. Buchanan's Cabinet, I have obtained 
interesting and valuable details. Of that period of Mr. Lincoln's 
administration from the inauguration until Fort Sumter was fired 
upon, I have obtained the fullest information from the Hon. F, 
W. Seward, who was the Assistant Secretary of State at that 
time. Access to the papers of his father, the Secretary of State, 
has been accorded me, and also to his private correspondence 
during that period. To him and to the Ex-Associate Justice 
Jno. A. Campbell, I am indebted for important papers relating to 
the period just prior to the surrender of Fort Sumter. To the 
Postmaster-General, Mr. Montgomery Blair, I owe a great obli- 
gation for the frank and outspoken statements furnished to me, 
both oral and written ; and to the Secretary of War, Mr. Cameron, 
whose singularly clear memory of the events still remains, and 
was cheerfully given. The principal sources from which I have 
drawn the material of my narrative are as follows ; 

1. Reports, resolutions and journals of the General Assembly of 

South Carolina, 1861. 

2. Conventions of South Carolina, 1832, 1853 and 1857. 

3. Messages of Governors Gist and F. W. Pickens, of South 

Carolina, i860, 1861 and 1862. 

4. Private and public papers, letters of Governor F. W. Pickens, 

i860, 1861 and 1862. 

5. Journal of the Convention of South Carolina, i860, 1861. 

6. Reports of Heads of Departments, South Carolina, i860, 

1861, after the secession of the State. 

7. Confederate documents relative to Fort Sumter. These were 

obtained from Montgomery Blair, Ex-Postmaster-General. 

8. Official correspondence of L. P. Walker, Secretary of War, 

1 86 1, Confederate War Department. 

9. Ordinances and Constitution of the State of Alabama, with 

the Constitution of the Provisional Government, 1861. 
10. Reports and private letters of General P. T. Beauregard, 
C. S. A. 



462 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

11. Acts and resolutions of the Provisional Congress of the Con- 

federate States, 1 86 1. 

12. Correspondence of the Confederate Commissioners Crawford, 

Roman and Forsyth with the Confederate Government at 
Montgomery, from February 7, 1861, to April 11, 1861. 
(These are from the original papers purchased by the 
Government through John A. Pickett, of Washington.) 

13. Executive Document No. 5. Correspondence between the 

Hon. J. W, Hayne and the President relative to Fort 
Sumter, 1861. 

14. " The record of Fort Sumter from its occupation by Major 

Anderson to its reduction by Confederate S;ates troops, 
1862." Columbia, S. C, 1862, W. A. Harris. 

15. From " Buchanan's Administration " I have drawn largely. 

and often in the words of the writer, as more forcible than 
any I could use, and it may be that credit has not always 
been given in the text. Especial acknowledgment is due, 
therefore, to this important work for the part his expres- 
sions will play in this narrative. 

16. Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association. 

Lowell, Mass., Vol. H., No. i, 1880. 

17. Statement, letters and reports of Captain G. V. Fox, United 

States Navy. Po7uhatan and relief of Sumter expedition. 

18. Papers of Ex-Associate Justice John A. Campbell, United 

States Supreme Court. Historical sketch. Correspond- 
ence with Southern Commissioners. MSS. *' Facts of 
History." 

19. The " War of the Rebellion; " A Compilation of the Official 

Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washing- 
ton: Government Printing Office, 1880. Vol. I, Series i. 

20. Messages and accompanying documents of Presidents Bu- 

chanan and Lincoln, 1 860-1 861. 

21. Congressional Record, 1860-1861. 

22. Official opinions, public and private papers, of the Hon. W. H. 

Seward, Secretary of State. 

23. Notes and journal of letters, official and private, of Major- 

General M. C. Meigs, U. S. A., Powhatan and Fort 
Pickens. 

24. Doubleday's "Moultrie and Sumter." 

25. Statement of Admiral D. D. Porter, relating to the Powhatan. 



SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 463 

26. Executive Documents, South Carolina. No. i to No. 6. 

27. Personal journal of daily events, from the meeting of the 

South Carolina Convention until the evacuation of Fort 
Sumter. 

28. " Life of James Buchanan," by George Ticknor Curtis. 

In the course of the preparation of my work I have twice vis- 
ited the scene of the events related in my narrative, and have 
gone over the record with the prominent survivors. There are 
yet many facts of detail and of interest unrecorded, which must 
now remain to be incorporated, should the reception of the work 
warrant further illustration. It might be alleged that subjects 
not immediately connected with the " Genesis of the Civil War " 
have been introduced into the narrative ; but these belong 
wholly to the " Story of Sumter," and, as in the case of the Pow- 
hatan and the reinforcement of Fort Pickens, could not be told 
intelligently except in detail. 

Other high and important sources of information have been 
freely drawn upon, and probably there are none of greater historic 
value than the responses made to specific inquiries addressed by 
me to the prominent survivors of the struggle, and which are 
nowhere else a matter of record. The authorities above men- 
tioned will show the character of the references I have relied 
upon to form my story, and to strengthen my own recorded 
observations and recollections of the events as they occurred. 

The Author. 



APPENDIX 11. 

Headquarters, Prov. Forces, 
Charleston, S. C, U. S. A., April 6, 1861. 
General Order ) 
No. 9. [ 

The following general instructions are issued for the govern- 
ment of commanders of batteries, and will be furnished by them 
to captains of batteries under their command. 

I. Should Fort Sumter at any time fire upon the works on 
Morris, James, or Sullivan's islands, or on any vessel or steamer 
in the service of or friendly to the Confederate States, this act of 
aggression will be the signal for the commencement of hostilities ; 
the mortar, enfilade and other batteries of the harbor bearing on 
Fort Sumter will immediately open their fire upon it, with a view, 
first, to dismount as many of the guns as possible, and then to 
effect a breach, if practicable. Great care should be taken not 
to fire rapidly, but accurately. 

The order to fire slowly but surely should be strictly enforced. 
There must be no waste of powder, shot or shells, the object 
being to worry out the garrison, if practicable. 

II. The mortar batteries will continue their firing day and night 
at the rate, collectively, in the daytime, of one shell every two 
minutes, and at night of one every ten minutes. There being 
sixteen mortars in position (four at Fort Johnson, two near the 
Moultrie House, two near Sullivan's Island point, two at Mount 
Pleasant, and six at Cummings Point), each mortar will be fired 
every thirty-two minutes in the first case, and once every two 
hours and forty minutes in the second. 

III. The batteries opposite to each other will endeavor to 
fire in succession in relative proportion to their armaments, and 
so as to cause their shells to explode sometimes immediately over 
and within Fort Sumter, and at other times on its parade or inte- 
rior ground. The firing, having been commenced by the Moultrie 
House mortar battery (Captain Butler), will be continued in the 
following order : first by the Fort Johnson (Captain James), in 

464 



APPENDIX. A^c 

the proportion of two shells from the latter to one from the for- 
mer; then by Cummings Point mortar batteries (Major Stevens 
and Captain King), followed by Sullivan's Island point mortar 
battery (Captain Hallonquist), and then last by the Mount Pleasant 
mortar battery (Captain Martin), in the proportion of three shells 
from the Cummings Point mortar battery to one from each of 
the two batteries. 

IV. Commanders of batteries to make application for addi- 
tional ammunition. 

V. Lights carefully placed, and batteries to open on Sumter 
at the signal. 



APPENDIX III. 

Extract from the message of President Lincoln transmitted 
to the 37th Congress, called in general session in July, 1861. 
***** * 

At the beginning of the present presidential term, four months 
ago, the functions of the Federal Government were found to be 
generally suspended within the several States of South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida, excepting 
only those of the Post Office Department. 

Within these States all the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, custom 
houses and the like, including the movable and stationary prop- 
erty in and about them, had been seized, and were held in open 
hostility to the Government, excepting only Forts Pickens, Tay- 
lor and Jefferson, on and near the Florida coast, and Fort Sum- 
ter, in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. 

The forts thus seized had been put in improved condition, 
new ones had been built, and armed forces had been organ- 
ized, all avowedly with the same hostile purpose. The forts 
remaining in the possession of the Federal Government, in 
and near those States, were either besieged or menaced by warlike 
preparations, and especially Fort Sumter was nearly surrounded 
by well-protected hostile batteries, with guns equal in quality to 
the best of its own, and outnumbering the latter as perhaps ten to 
one. A disproportionate share of the Federal muskets and rifles 
had somehow found their way into those States, and had been 
seized to be used against the Government. 

Accumulations of the public revenue lying within them had 
been seized for the same object. The Navy was scattered in 
distant seas, leaving but a very small part of it within the imme- 
diate reach of the Government. Officers of the Federal Army 
and Navy had resigned in great numbers, and of those resigned a 
large proportion had taken up arms against the Government. 
Simultaneously, and in connection with all this, the purpose to sever 
the Federal Union was openly avowed. 

466 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S MESSAGE. 



467 



An ordinance was adopted in each of these States so declaring, 
. a formula for instituting a combined government 
promulgated, and this illegal combination in the character of Con- 
federate States was already invoking recognition, aid and inter- 
vention from foreign powers. Finding this condition of things, and 
believing it to bean imperative duty upon the incoming Executive 
to prevent, if possible, the consummation of such an attempt to 
destroy the Federal Union, a choice of means to that end became 
indispensable. This choice was made and declared in the inau- 
gural . . . exhaust all peaceful measures, hold all of 
the public places and property not already wrested from the 
Government, and to collect the revenue, relying for the rest on 
time, discussion and the ballot. It promised a continuation of 
the mails at Government expense, to the very people who were 
resisting the Government, and repeated its pledges to maintain 
the rights of the people. Of all that which a President might 
constitutionally and justifiably do in such a case, everything was 
forborne without which it was believed possible to keep the Gov- 
ernment on foot. 

Major Anderson's letter on the 5th of March (the 
present incumbent's first full day in office) was placed in his 
hands. It was laid before General Scott, who concurred in 
Major Anderson's opinion, having conferred with other officers of 
the army and navy, and at the end of four days came to the 
same conclusion. No such force available. In a purely military 
point of view this reduced the duty of the administration in the 
case to the mere matter of getting the garrison out of the fort. 

It was believed, however, that to abandon that position under 
the circumstances would be utterly ruinous ; that the necessity 
under which it was to be done would not be fully understood ; 
that by many it would be construed as a part of a zwliintary 
policy ; that at home it would discourage the friends of the Union, 
embolden its adversaries, and go far to ensure to the latter a 
recognition abroad. That, in fact, it would be our national des- 
truction consummated. This could not be allowed. Starvation 
was not yet upon the garrison, and ere it would be reached Fort 
Pickens might be reinforced. This fact would be a clear indica- 
tion of policy, and would better enable the country to accept the 
evacuation of Fort Sumter as a military necessity. 

An order was at once directed to be sent for the landing of 



468 THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

the troops from the steamship Brooklyn into Fort Pickens. This 
order could not go by land, but must take the longer and slower 
route by sea. The first return news from the order was received 
just one week before the fall of Sumter. The news itself was 
that the officer commanding the Sabine, to which vessel the troops 
had been transferred from the Brooklyn, acting upon some quasi 
armistice of the late administration (and of the existence of which 
the present administration, up to the time the order was despatched, 
had only too vague and uncertain rumors to give attention), 
had refused to land the troops. To now reinforce Fort Pickens 
before a crisis would be reached at Fort Sumter was impossible, 
rendered so by the near exhaustion of provisions in the latter- 
named fort. In precaution against such a conjunction, the Gov- 
ernment had a few days before commenced preparing an expedi- 
tion, as well adapted as might be, to relieve Fort Sumter, which 
expedition was intended to be ultimately used or not, according 
to circumstances. The strongest anticipated case for using it 
was now presented, and it was resolved to send it forward. 

As had been intended in this contingency, it was also resolved 
to notify the Governor of South Carolina that he might expect 
that an attempt would be made to provision the fort, and that if 
not resisted no attempt to reinforce would be made, or arms or 
ammunition sent without previous notice or in case of attack. 

The notice was given; the fort was bombarded without await- 
ing the arrival of the expedition. It is thus seen that the assault 
upon and the reduction of Fort Sumter was in no sense a matter 
of self-defense on the part of the assailants. They well knew 
that the garrison in the fort could by no possibility commit aggres- 
sion upon them. They knew, they were expressly notified, that 
the giving of bread to the few brave and hungry men of the gar- 
rison was all which upon that occasion would be attempted, unless 
themselves, by resisting so much, should provoke more. They 
knew that the Government desired to keep the garrison in the 
fort, not to assail them, but merely to maintain visible pos- 
session, and thus to preserve the Union from actual and immedi- 
ate dissolution, trusting, as hereinbefore stated, to time and 
discussion and the ballot-box, for final adjustment, and they 
assailed and reduced the fort for precisely the reverse object, 
to drive out the visible authority of the Federal Union, and thus 
force it into immediate dissolution. 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S MESSAGE. 



469 



That this was their object, the Executive well understood, and 
having said to them in the inaugural address, " You can have no 
conflict," &c., &c., he took pains not only to keep this declara- 
tion good, but also to keep the case so freed from ingenious 
sophistry that the world should not be able to misunderstand it. 
By the affair at Fort Sumter, with its surrounding circumstances, 
that point was reached. Then and thereby the assailants of the 
Government began the conflict of arms, without a gun in sight or 
in expectancy to return their fire, save only the few in the fort, 
sent to that harbor years before for their own protection in what- 
ever was lawful. 

In this act, discarding all else, they have forced upon the 
country the distinct issue, " immediate dissolution or blood," and 
this issue embraces more than the fate of these United States. It 
presents to the whole family of man the question whether a con- 
stitutional republic or democracy, a government of the people by 
the same people, can or cannot maintain its territorial integrity 
against its own domestic foes. Must a government of necessity 
be too strong for the liberties of its own people or too weak to 
maintain its own existence ?" 



APPENDIX IV. 

" Steamship Baltic, 
"Thursday, April i8, i86t, 
''General : 

" I have the honor to submit to you the following report of 
killed and wounded during and after the engagement at Fort 
Sumter, South Carolina, on the 12th, 13th and 14th of April, 
1861. 

''WOUNDED IN THE ACTION 

"April 12, Sergt. Thomas Kernan, Co. E., ist Art'y. Severely. 

" Private James Hays, Co. E, ist Art'y. Slightly. 

** Private Edward Gallway, Co. E, ist Art'y. Slightly. 

" John Swearer, mechanic, Eng'r Dep't. Severely. 

" KILLED AND WOUNDED AFTER THE ACTION : 

"April 14, Killed : Daniel Hough, Private, Co. E, ist Artillery, 
while firing salute. 

" wounded: 

"April 14, Edward Gallway, Co. E, mortally wounded ; died on 

April 19. 
April 14, John Irwin, Co. E, severely burned on thigh and leg. 
" James Fielding, Co. E, severely wounded. 
" John Pritchard, Co. E, slightly wounded — face with fire. 
" James Harp, Co. E. slightly wounded. 
" Respectfully, 

** S. W. Crawford, 

'■'■ Assistant Surgeon^ U. S. A." 
470 



APPENDIX V. 

" New York, December, 1862. 
'* Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 

" Sir : Although by the strict advice of my medical advisers 
I am prevented from undertaking any correspondence, the sub- 
ject upon which I now have the honor to address you is one 
involving so much that I am induced to incur a risk, in order to 
bring it to your notice. I have observed in published Orders 
No. 181 that the brevet of major for the distinguished part 
taken by him in the transfer of the garrison of Fort Moultrie to 
Sumter, South Carolina, has been conferred upon Captain John 
G. Foster, Engineer Corps, to date from December 26, i860. It is 
proper that I should here refer to the part taken by the different 
ofificers in that move; the only part Captain Foster took in the 
removal was his compliance with my request in directing Lieu- 
tenants Snyder and Meade to report to me with their boats' crews 
to aid in the move. To Lieutenants Snyder and Meade we were 
greatly mdebted for their active and laborious exertions in making 
the transfer. I regret more deeply that neither of those officers can 
receive the favorable notice of our Government; the former is 
dead, and the latter has left our service. Assistant Surgeon 
Crawford returned to Fort Moultrie on the 27th, and was very 
active in sending over some ammunition, which was of material 
and essential service to us during our fight; and articles which 
Lieutenant Hall, to whom I was greatly indebted for his activity 
and energy in sending off the greater part of the stores which I had 
been unable to take over. From this it will be seen that if the 
Department desires to reward any officers for this service, that 
Brevets should be conferred upon those just named. 

" In my letters to the Adjutant-General, whilst at Fort Sumter, 
numbered 43, 44, 45, 58, 62, 74, 54, 66, 83, 93, and 94, I 
make a special mention of the services of Captain Seymour, Dr. 
Crawford, Lieutenants Snyder and Meade ; these officers, in addi- 
tion to their appropriate duties, contributed in no small degree to 



472 



THE GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



the maintenance of our position at Fort Sumter, and whose serv- 
ice deserves a special mention from me. If the Government 
deems any brevets due, it is to these officers. 

" It will be seen by reference to my letters I have mentioned, 
I have in letter No. 83 given credit to Captain Doubleday for an 
important suggestion; I now take advantage of this occasion to 
renew the commendation thus made, and to respectfully recom- 
mend that as a measure of justice to the officers named, a brevet, 
to date from April 14, 1861, should be bestowed either upon 
those of whom a special mention is made, or, as an act of justice 
to all, each one of the officers under my command should alike 
receive a brevet; and I again implore the Department that the 
distinction now contemplated for one only of the officers shall 
not be bestowed alone, it being in my estimation neither deserved 
upon his part nor just to his brother officers. As this matter has 
become the subject of official notice, it renders it more important 
that I should, as soon as possible, undertake an official report of 
the closing scenes of the occupancy of that work, which I have 
been thus far prevented from complying with from the strict 
orders of my physician. As soon as I can write, with the assistance 
of my friends I will make the report. 

" Very respectfully, 
(Signed) '* Robert Anderson, 

" Brigadier-General. 

" Letter No. 54, thanks to Dr. Crawford, and to Lieutenant 
Snyder, and Lieutenant Meade." 



IN DEX. 



Abolitionists, stringent measures 
against, by Gov. Gist, 17. 

Adams, J. H., at Secession Convention, 
46; appointed commissioner to Wash- 
ington 142. 

Anderson, Maj. R., appointed to com- 
mand at Moultrie, 59, 60; recom- 
mends occupation of Sumter and 
Pinckney, 60, 62, 64; sketch of, 61; 
report of, on work at Moultrie, 62; 
urges reinforcement of forts, 63; force 
of, at Moultrie, 64; report of, on 
work, 66; refuses rolls of men to 
State, 67; reports Moultrie in danger, 

68, 69; letter of, to R. N. Gourdin, 

69, to his rector, 70; desires to re- 
move sand-hills, 70, 71; views of, 
regarding Sumter, 71; authorized to 
defend forts, 73; occupies Pinckney, 
75, 76; suggests change in construc- 
tion at Moultrie, 92; desires entire 
control and to occupy Sumter, 93, 
94; interpretation by, of Buell's 
orders, 100; determines to transfer 
to Sumter, loi, plan carried out, 40, 
41, 43, 102-112, report on, 106; 
receives messengers from Pickens, 
no; refuses to leave, in; requests 
protection for non-combatants, asks 
for private effects, 117; sends mes- 
senger to Moultrie, 118; surrounded 
by difficulties, 126; reasons of, for 

removal to Sumter, 127-130; visited 

by his wife, 133; interview of, with 
his brother, 136; despatch of, to 
Floyd, reply, 143; condemned by 
Cabinet, 146; tribute of Judge Black 
to, 154, 155; informed of relief ex- 
pedition, 175; instructed to protect 
relief ship, 175, 176; praised by 
Secretary of War, 177; action of, as 
to Star of the West, 185, does not 
fire, 186; threatens to close harbor. 
187, letter thereon to Governor, 188; 
sends messenger to Washington, 190, 
191; will not surrender, 192; reply 
of, to Magrath, 193, to Pickens, 194; 
reply of, to offer of supplies, 201, 
returns them, 202; reports of, on 



supplies, 202, 203; course of, ap- 
proved by Government, 204, 205; 
sends women and children Noi-th, 
206. 207; reports of, on works in 
harbor, 279-281, 291; estimate of, of 
force for relief, 283, _ 355; Govern- 
ment's erroneous impression of posi- 
tion of, 284, 288, notwithstanding 
reports of Anderson, 289, 290; 
reasons of, for not asking rein- 
forcements, 290; instructions to, on 
floating battery, 292, 293; despon- 
dent, improvements in fort, 295- 
297; letter of, to Beauregard on 
removal, 303; letter to, from Beaure- 
gard on surrender, 308, reply, 309; 
protests against reinforcement, 371, 
against Fox's expedition, 3S5, be- 
cause impracticable, 373; can hold 
out till 15th April, 372; misled by 
Lamon's statements, 374, 377, 378; 
report of, on Shannon affair, 376- 
38b; complains of cutter and shell- 
firing, despatch on, 3S1; notice to, 
of relief by Government, 382 ; mails 
of, seized, 383, 384-3S6; alarmed at 
report of no relief, 391; allowed to 
receive mails, 394; suggestion of, as 
to supply vessels, 399; informed of 
relief expedition, 407; called on to 
surrender, refuses, 423 ; receives 
final proposition of Confederate Gov- 
ernment, 424, his answer, 425; noti- 
fied of immediate attack, 426; with- 
draws men from parapet, 431; stops 
making of cartridges, 432; agrees to 
surrender at once, 440; raises white 
flag, submits terms to Beauregard, 
441; letter of, to Pickens and Beau- 
regard, 442 ; Beauregard's tribute to, 
447; reports surrender to Cameron, 
449; subsequent career of, 450. 

Army, U. S., social relations of ofificers 
of, in Charleston, 7, 64; loyalty of, 
to Union, 8; force of, in February, 
1861, 167. 

Arsenal, U. S., at Charleston, watched 
by State troops, 57; seized, 1 19-122; 
value of stores at, 123. 



474 



INDEX. 



Atlantic, in Fort Pickens expedition, 
412, 415. 

Bachman, Rev. Dr., invited to attend 
signing of Ordinance, 54. 

Baldwin, Col. J. B., sent to President 
by Virginia Convention, report, 311; 
action of, in Convention, 312. 

Baltic, in Lincoln's relief expedition 
for Sumter, 417-419; conveys garri- 
son North, 448, 449. 

Baltimore, Md., recruiting in, for Con- 
federacy, 309. 

Barnwell, Robert W., at Secession 
Convention, 46; appointed commis- 
sioner to Washington, 52 142; re- 
marks of, to President, 148. 

Battery, floating, buUt at Charles- 
ton, 21C; Anderson's instructions 
on, 292, 293; movements of, 302; 
final position of, 399; in the bom 
bardment, officers engaged, 429; 
effect of shots on, 430. 

Beauregard, Gen. Peter G. T., sketch 
of, 275; relieved from command of 
West Pom t, 276; resigns from army, 
276, 277; offered command by Con- 
federacy, 277, accepts, condemns 
works on Morris Island, 278; im- 
provements by, on works in harbor, 
279; assumes command, staff', alters 
batteries, 306; deprived of officers, 
307; letter of, to Anderson on sur- 
render, reply, 309; limits of com- 
mand increased, 310 ; calls out vol- 
unteers, 341; instructed as to his 
course, 392; ordered to send no 
provisions to Sumter, calls out forces, 
397; ordered to demand evacuation 
of Sumter, 421; his communication 
to Anderson, 423; sends offer of 
assistance to Sumter, 441 ; offers 
terms of surrender, 442; tribute of, 
to Anderson and men, 447. 

Benjamin, Senator Judali P., requests 
Pickens's envoy to withhold letter to 
President, 218, 219, 221. 

Black, Judge J. S., opinion by, of Ma- 
grath's action, 16; course of. in 
i860, 24; urges reinforcement of 
Charleston forts, 26; succeeds Cass 
in State Department, 43, 44; objects 
to President's reply to Commissioners, 
149, 151; interview of, with Presi- 
dent, says reply must be recast or 
he resigns, 152; remodels President's 
reply, 153-155; urges help for Ander- 
son, 155; thinks Sumter should have 
been relieved, 168; tries to prevent 
Thompson's warning despatch, 179; 



refuses to ask Floyd's resignation, 
215; letter of, to Scott on reinforcing 
Sumter, 236, 237; warns President 
of danger and false statements. 240, 
241-243. 

Blair, Francis P., interviews Lincoln 
on withdrawal of Anderson, 364. 

Blair, Montgomery, thinks President 
bound to retain Sumter, 347; views 
of, on relief of Sumter, 357-360; 
accuses Buchanan of complicity with 
rebellion, 359; account by, of Lin- 
coln's order to reinforce Sumter, 

365. 

Bonham, Gen. M. L., notifies Gist of 
Trescot's mission, 35; confers with 
Buchanan on reinforcements, 38, 39; 
advises Pickens to withdraw demand 
for Sumter, 84; opinion of, on Fox's 
relief plan, 372. 

Boyce, W. W., advocates secession of 
South Carolina, 10, 11; confers with 
Buchanan on reinforcements. 38. 39. 

Breckinridge, John C, asks Floyd to 
resign, 215. 

Brooklyn, ready to relieve Sumter, 169, 
170; force ordered aboard of, 171; 
Star of the West substituted for, 175; 
ordered to escort Star of the West, 
176; at Fort Pickens, orders, 401, 
402. 

Brown, Gov. J. E. , reply of, to Pick- 
ens as to Sumter, 266. 

Bryan, Judge G. S., visits Moultrie, 
95; thinks fort will be taken, 96. 

Buchanan, President, troubled by ac- 
tion of Magrath, 16; Cabinet of, 21; 
thinks Republican victory illusory, 
discredits secession, 22; decides to 
reinforce Charleston forts, 28 ; knowl- 
edge of, of State matters, anxious for 
revenue and safety of forts, 33; 
determines his course, his message, 
36; anxious for Anderson's safety, 
38; vacillation of, as to reinforcing 
forts, 39, 40, 42; refuses reinforce- 
ments, 43; declines to return Cass's 
resignation, 44; message of, before 
Secession Convention, 50, 51; dis- 
satisfied with instructions to Ander- 
son, 75; letter of Pickens to, de- 
manding Sumter, 81, gratified by 
its withdrawal, 84, 86; measures 
taken by, to avoid collisions, 85; 
letter of, to Pickens, 87; accepts 
suggestions of Convention Commis- 
sioners, 142; action of, at news of 
Anderson's movement, 144; his re- 
gret at situation, 145 ; kept ignorant 
of original orders to Anderson, 146, 



INDEX. 



475 



157; vacillation cf, 148, 152; sub- 
mits reply to Commissioners to 
Cabinet, 149; accepts Floyd's resig- 
nation, appoints Holt, 149-15 1; inter- 
view of, with Black, 152; allows 
Black to remodel reply, the changes, 
I53-I55> the reply, 156-158; will 
not surrender forts, 156; will not 
order Anderson to leave Sumter, 149, 
157, 159" the alternative before him, 
160, decides for Union, 161; rela- 
tions of, wiih Scott, 163; his criti- 
cisms on Scott's "Views," 167, i68; 
declines (Dec. 15) to reinforce forts, 
his policy, 169; decides (Dec. 30) to 
send the Brooklyn, 170, orders with- 
held, 171; declines to receive reply 
of Commissioners, 174; determined 
to reinforce Sumter, 174, 182; coun- 
termands order for sailing of relief, 
too late, 176; accepts Thompson's 
resignation, 181; relations of, with 
Floyd, 213-216; reply of, to Southern 
Senators, 220, 221; receives letter of 
Pickens's envoy, 228, reply, 229-231, 
■ declines to receive second letter, 233; 
embarrassed by Anderson's truce, 
235, respects it, 2;,6, 250; contem- 
plates new expedition, 236; declines 
proposition of Peace Convention, 
243, sends resolutions to Congress, 
244; his view of situation, and his 
own duties, in December, 252, 253; 
special messageof 8th January, 1861, 
254; powers of, 255; countermands 
order for parade on 22d February, 
273, yields it, excuse to Tyler, 274; 
assumes responsibility of relieving 
Beauregard, 276, 277; letter to Sli- 
dell, 277; action of, on Anderson's 
estimate of relief, 284; residts of 
failure of, to reinforce forts, 285; 
leanings of, to South, 286; sides 
with North to ) late, 2^7; comments 
on, by M. J. Crawford, 316; accused 
of complicity with rebellion. 359. 
Buell, Maj jr Don C, mi.-sion of, to 
Anderson, 71, 72; memorandum of 
instructions, 73; views of, on affairs 
at Charleston, 74; comment of, on 
Anderson's movement, 146. 

Cabinet (Buchanan's , opinions of, re- 
garding secession, 21-25, regard- 
ing reinforcement of Charleston 
forts, 25-32; reception by, of Buch- 
anan's message, 36; Cobb resigns, 
Thomas and Dix succeed, 37; Cass 
resigns, Black succeeds, 43, 44; 
strictures of, on Anderson, 146; on 



Buchanan's reply to Commissioners, 
149; Floyd resigns, 149, Holt suc- 
ceeds, 150; nigh to dissolution, 151, 
160; Thompson resigns, 181; council 
of, proposes plan to relieve Sumter, 
248. (Lincoln's:) composition of, 317, 
319, 320; pledged to evacuation of 
Sumter, 338; discussrelief of Sumter, 
347, opinions on, 348-361, 364, 365; 
convinced that attempt to relieve 
fort will precipitate war, 402. 

Cameron, Simon, views of, on relief of 
Sumter, 353-357; changes opinion 
as to relief, 367 ; notifies Pickens of 
determination to provision Sumter, 
394, 396. 

Campbell, Judge John A., determines 
to bring about peace, 325; opinion 
of, on coercion and coasting trade, 
326; seeks opinion of Judge Black, 
advises Seward to recognize Com- 
missioners, 327; authorized to prom- 
ise evacuation of Sumter, 328, 329; 
interview of, with Commissioners, 
329; promise of evacuation, in writ- 
ing, 330, 331, interviews Seward on 
its non-fulfilment, 337; asks reas- 
surance from Seward, receives it, 
340; holds Federal Government re- 
sponsible- for the firing on Sum- 
ter, 344; subsequent actions of, 344, 

^ 345- ^ 

Canning, George, anecdote of, 152. 

Capers, Maj. Ellison, on mission to 
Anderson, 109; explains use of 
guard-boats, ill. 

Carroll, Chancellor (S. C), at Seces- 
sion Convention, 47. 

Cass, Gen. Lewis, opposes State-rights 
and secession, 23; in favor of rein- 
forcing Charleston forts, 26; resigns 
office, 43; request of, to withdraw 
resignation refused, 44. 

Charleston, S. C, Federal property in, 
I, 2; fortifications commenced in 
harbor of, 7; relations of people of, 
with garrison, 7; grand jury in, 
refuse to act, 12; U. S. District 
Court in, closed, resignation of 
Judge Magrath, his address, 13; 
committee from, to urge Legislature 
to act, 16; proposed reinforcement 
of forts at, creates anxiety, 25-35, 
38-43; Secession Convention ad- 
journs to, 48; enthusiasm of people 
of, 50, 52, 53, 55; pilots of, will pilot 
no Federal vessels, 52; people of, 
forbid ammunition to Moultrie, 57- 
59, and threaten the forts, 64-67, 
68, determined to possess them, 71; 



476 



INDEX. 



a journal of, on Buell's mission, 75; 
excitement in, on shipment of arms to 
forts, 77, 78; plan of military of, to 
capture Sumter, 89, 90; merchants of, 
reiuse to sell lumber for forts, 96; 
excitement in, on occupancy of 
Sumter, 108, 136; harbor lights 
in, extinguished, 133, 134; Board 
of Pilots of, advise obstructing 
channels, 137; weighted hulks sunk 
in harbor ol, 200; floating battery 
for, built, 210; salutes in harbor of, 
22d Feb., 273; improvements in forts 
of, by Beauregard, 279-281; ad- 
ditional defenses in harbor of, 301, 
302; batteries nearly ready, 310, 
ordnance for, distributed, 312; force 
in harbor of (April, 1861), 397. 

Chase, Salmon P., opposition to, as 
member of Cabinet, 320; views of, 
on relief of Sumter, 360, 361, his 
letters of correction on, 366, 367; 
inclined to peace, 392. 

Chesnut, Senator James, Jr., at Seces- 
sion Convention, 46 ; bears to 
Anderson demand for surrender, 
422, 423; reply of, as to immediate 
attack, conveys final proposition of 
his Government, 424; notifies Ander- 
son of attack, 426. 

Chisholm, Lieut. -Col. A. R., bears letter 
to Anderson on surrender, 308; con- 
veys demand for surrender, 423. 

Clay, Senator C. C, Jr., requests Pick- 
ens's envoy to withhold letter to Pre- 
sident, 218, 219, 221. 

Clayton, Judge Alex. H., decision by, 
as to powers of provisional Congress, 
262. 

Cobb, Howell, advocates secession, 
22; wishes to withdraw as candi- 
date to Senate, 23; resigns from 
Cabinet, tribute to Buchanan, 37. 

Commercial Advcr:iser (N. Y. ), quoted, 

309- 

Commissioners from S. C. Convention 
depart for Washington, 101 ; compo- 
sition of, arrival, plan, 142; inter- 
view of, with President, 146, 148; 
powers of, 147; letter of. to Presi- 
dent, 147, 148; reply to. of President, 
156-158, changed by Judge Black, 
153-155; reply of, to President, 159, 
171-174; leave Washington, 159, 
174; correspondence of, sent to Con- 
gress, 255; telegraph reassurance of 
no reinforcement, 395. 

Commissioners from Confederate Gov- 
ernment appointed, 314; instructions 
to, 314-316, secret instructions to, 



333, 336; memorandum of, on terms 
for delay, 323, 324; not recognized 
by Seward, 324, 325; ask an official 
interview, action approved, 325; 
exaggerated conclusions by, 332; 
further instructions to, 334; advise 
active defense, think peace policy 
gaining, 335 ; course of, approved by 
their Government, 336; concessions 
to, report strong war movements, 
339, 340; demand audience, 340; 
still believe Sumter will be given up, 
341 ; angry rejoinder of, to Seward, 
342, his memorandum in reply, their 
return, 343. See under Crawford 
{Martin), Forsyth, Roman. 

Congress, Federal (1860-61), appro- 
priations of, for Charleston torts, 
65 ; takes no action on resolutions of 
Peace Convention 244; inaction of, 
254; militia bills introduced into, 
255; will not define President's 
powers, 255, 256; action of, on 'Crit- 
tenden Amendment, " 256; adjourns, 
nothing accomplished, 257, 282. 

Congress, Provisional — see Govern- 
ment, Conf 'derate. 

Convention. Peace (of Va.), instituted, 
243; meets, 256; appoints commis- 
sioners, 243, their interview with 
Buchanan, 243, 244; sends an am- 
endment to Congress, rejected, 257; 
Unionists and Secessionists at, 310; 
sends representative to Lincoln, 311; 
sends committee to Lincoln, 312. 

Convention for Secession (S. C. ), bill 
for, passed by Legislature, 16; prob- 
able effect ol delay of, 18; Journal 
of, quoted, 38; report to, on rein- 
forcements, 40; assemblin>j of, 45; 
some members of, 46,47 ; resolu'Jon of, 
to secede, passed, adjourns to Charles- 
ton, 48; resolution of, as to Federal 
property, 50; session of, not public, 
51 ; sends commissioners to President 
and Congress, other resolutions 
of, 52; adopts Ordinance of Seces- 
sion, 53, 54; adjourns, 55; commis- 
sioners of, leave for Washington, 
loi, arrival, proposed plan, 142; 
report of committee on Federal pro- 
perty, 388; action of, on resolutions, 
389, 390; proceedings of, published, 
adjourns, 390; transfers Federal 
property to Confederacy, 390, 394. 

Convention (S. C.) of 1852, declara- 
tion by, 47. 

Cooper, Col. Samuel, resigns from U. 
S. army, joins Confederate army, 
310. 



INDEX. 



477 



Co-operation of Southern States, opin- 
ion of Judge Magrath on, 14; un- 
wise before individual State action, 
18. 

Courtenay, Sergt. W. A., resolution 
of, offering services of regiment, 19. 

Cowling, W. W., refuses to send 
Thompson's warning despatch, 179; 
resigns, 180. 

Craig, Col., proposes to arm workmen 
at Moultrie, 56. 

Crawford, Martin J., Confederate 
commissioner to Washington, 314; 
instructions of, 314-316; thinks it 
unwise to negotiate with Buchanan, 
316; advice of, to Lincoln, 317; 
supports Seward's policy, 320; course 
of, as to provisioning Sumter, 321; 
interview of, with Judge Campbell, 
329; consents to delay, 330; return 
of, 343; says Lincoln will shift re- 
sponsibility on Anderson, 377, 391; 
thinks President lacks courage to 
evacuate Sumter, 391. 

Crawford, Surg. S. W., trip of, to 
secure Sumter mail, 191 ; estimate 
by, of force for relief, 284; opinion of, 
on holding out, 425 ; in bombard- 
ment, 430, 432, 442; subsequent 
career of, 452. 

Cummings Point, Charleston, occupied, 
134; works at, 272, condemned by 
engineers, 278; a gun from Eng- 
land, 291; additional defenses at, 
301; armament at, 303; changes at, 
by Beauregard, 306; Blakely t;un at, 
397; batteries on, bombarding, of- 
ficers engaged, 427. 

Cunningham, Col. John, seizes arsenal, 
122; at head of force against relief 
vessels, 139. 

Gushing, Caleb, mission of, from Buch- 
anan to Pickens, 87; unsuccessful, 
returns, 88. 

Davis, Jefferson C, thinks demand for 
Sumter unwise, 84; announces Ander- 
son's movement to President, 143; 
requests Pickens's envoy to withhold 
letter to President, 218, 219, 221; 
action of, in Senate, 255. 263; advice 
of, as to Sumter, 263-266; President 
of Confederate Government, 271 ; in- 
structions of, to Commissioners to 
Washington, 314-316. 

Davis, First Lieut. Jefferson C, in com- 
mand of Pinckney, 76; in removal to 
Sumter, 104, 107; estimate by, of 
force for relief, 284; in bombardment, 
430, 440; subsequent career of, 455. 



Dayton, T. F., on S. C. Ordnance 
Board, 208. 

De Groot claim, history of, 214. 

Democratic party in danger of disrup- 
tion, 20, 21; defeat of. deemed cer- 
tain, 22; Gov. Brown's views of pro- 
bable course of, 266. 

Dix, Gen. John A., Secretary of Trea- 
sury under Buchanan, 37. 

Doubleday, Capt. Abner, in removal to 
Sumter, 104-107; estimate by, of 
force for relief, 285; in bombardment, 
429, 447; subsequent career of, 454. 

Dunkin, Benjamin, at Secession Con- 
vention, 47. 

Dunovant, Gen., arrests Capts. Foster 
and Seymour, 119, 136. 

Elmore, J. A., commissioner to Seces- 
sion Convention, 51. 

England, gun from, at Charleston, 291. 

Expeditions, for relief of Sumter: Star 
of the West, 123, 133, 139, 175-186, 
190, 201, 205, 224, 307; Harriet 
Lane, 134, 137, 138, 307; Judge 
Black's views, 155, 238, 239; Gen. 
Scott's plan, 170; Brooklyn, 170, 
171, 175, 240, 242; Com. Ward's 
plan, 248, ^50, 347, 354, 356; Capt. 
Fox's plan, 248, 249, 251. 347, 354, 
356, 360, 363, 371; Crusader, Mo- 
hawk, Empire City. 307; Lincoln's, 
404-406, 416-420 For relief of Fort 
Pickens, 401; Meigs's, 407-416. 

Farley, Lieut. H. S., joins State ser- 
vice, 137. 

Ferguson, Capt. S. W. , on Beaure- 
gard's staff, 306; bears letter to 
Anderson on surrender, 309. 

Fitzpatrick, Senator Benjamin, requests 
Pickens's envoy to withhold letter to 
President, 218, 219, 221. 

Florida passes Ordinance of Secession, 

257- 
Floyd, John B., thinks secession un- 
wise, favors State-rights, 23 ; opposed 
to reinforcing Charleston forts, 26- 
29; action of, in Moultrie supply 
affair, 59; refuses occupancy of 
Pinckney, 62, grants permission, 63; 
willing to employ civilians at Moul- 
trie, 64; instructs Anderson through 
Buell, 72; sanctions Buell's mem- 
orandum, 74; indifferent to Pickens's 
use of guard-boats, 97, 99; reply 
of, to Pickens on remforcements, 
141; says order was to dismantle 
Sumter, not Moultrie, 143; telegrams 
of, to Anderson, 144, 145; con- 



478 



INDEX. 



demns Anderson's action, 146; 
advocates concessions, recommends 
withdrawal of troops from Charles- 
ton, resigns, 149; resignation 
accepted, successor appointed 149- 
151, 216; sketch of, 213-217; con- 
duct of, in De Groot claim and 
Indian Trust bonds, 214, 215; orders 
armament sent South, 216. 
Foote, Capt. A. H., directed to aid 
Fort Pickens expedition, 411; as- 
tonished at Lincoln's course, his 
action, 412; conflicting orders to, 

413- 

Forsyth, John, Confederate Commis- 
sioner to Washington, 314; instruc- 
tions to, 314-316; agrees with Sew- 
ard's policy, 322. 

Foster, Capt. J. G., commences works 
in Charleston harbor, 7; requests 
arms for forts, 76, receives them 
from arsenal, causing excitement, 77, 
ordered to return them, 78; work of, 
at Moultrie, 93, 94; report of, on 
guard-boats and construction, 97-99; 
destroys material at Moultrie, 107; 
arrested and released, 119, 136; re- 
ports of, on batteries in harbor, 280, 
303; estimate by, of force for relief, 
283; sketch of Sumter by, 300; career 
of, after Sumter, 452. 

Fox, Capt. Gustavus V., plan of, to 
relieve Sumter, 248-251; plan sub- 
mitted to Lincoln, 357; Sec. Came- 
ron's opinion of plan of, 356, Sec. 
Blair's opinion, 300; plan criticised 
by Totten and Scott, 361-363; sent 
to Anderson by Lincoln, 369; inter- 
views Anderson, 371, 372; plan of, 
feared by Confederates, 372; accused 
of treachery, 384, his explanation, 
386; in charge of Lincoln's relief 
expedition, 404, orders to, 404, 4c 6; 
ignorant of change of orders, 418; 
praised by Lincoln, 420. 

France, minister of, on her probable 
action, 336. 

Gardiner, Col. J. L., in command of 
Moultrie, 5, views of, on arming 
workmen at, 56; attempts renewal 
of supplies, 57, 58; Maj. Porter's 
strictures on, 60; removed from 
command, 59, 60. 

Gibbes, Lieut. W. H., joins State ser- 
vice, 137. 

Gist, Gov., advocates secession, 9, 10, 
14, 17, 18; recommends organizing 
State military, 10; recommends strin- 
gent action as to slaves and aboli- 



tionists, 17; urges immediate action, 
18; accepts offer of Washington Light 
Lifantry, 19; letters to Trescot on 
reinforcement of forts, 31, 32; answer 
of, to Buchanan's message, 35; letter 
of, to Gen. Simons on violated 
Federal pledge, 40, to Legislature. 41 ; 
at Secession Convention, 46; places 
guaid at arsenal, 120. 

Glover, Judge, at Secession Conven- 
tion, 47. 

Governinent, Confederate, assembles, 
259; forms government, acts passed, 
260, 271; provides for defense, 260, 
261; South Carolina's views of, 
opposed, its powers. 262; nssumes 
charge of Sun.ter affair, 268, of all 
military operations, 270; Senator 
Davis President of, 271; commis- 
sioners from, in Washington, 282; 
military force of, 305 ; recruiting for, 
in Baltimore, 309; prohibits com- 
munication with Sumter, 313; ap- 
points commissioners to Washington, 
314, iristructions, 314-316, 333, 334; 
conditions of, for a truce, foreign 
relations of, 336; Seward's remarks 
on action of, 349; distrusts promise 
to evacuate Sumter, 392 ; orders evac- 
uation of Sumter, 421, reasons for, 
422; final proposition of, to Ander- 
son, 424 

Government, Federal, property of, in 
Charleston, i, 2; plans Sumter with- 
out consent of State, 4; repairs Moul- 
trie, builds Sumter, 6, 7? judicial 
officers of, at Charleston resign, 12- 
14, 15; alive to movements in South 
Carolina, 20; plans of, for placating 
people of Charleston, 29, 30; violates 
pledge to not reinforce forts, 41; 
action of Secession Convention on 
proj^erty of, 50; declines to further 
reinforce forts, 68, 70, or to remove 
sand-hills at Moultrie, 70; allows 
laborers for Pinckney, 75 ; urged by 
Anderson to occupy Sumter, 93; 
ignores orders given to Anderson, 
100; mail service of, undisturbed, 
116, 118; arsenal of, at Charleston 
seized, 1 19-122, engineer office seized, 
136; effect on, of Anderson's move- 
ment, 140; attempt of, to reinforce 
Sumter, 174-184, will make no fur- 
ther attempt, 205 ; money of, in New 
Orleans mint seized, 257, Southern 
forts of, seized, 269; erroneous im- 
pression of, as to Anderson's posi- 
tion, 284, 288; concessions of, to 
Confederate Commissioners, 339; will 



INDEX. 



479 



not recognize Confederacy, 343; 
Seward's opinion of duty ot, 350. 

Guard-boats employed by Pickens, 88, 
97, 98; in removal to Sumter, 104- 
107; fired on, 292. 

Gwynn, Senator William M., as inter- 
mediary between North and South, 
319; telegram of, to Confederacy, 
altered, 320. 

Gwynn. Col. W., inspects Sumter, 90; 
on Ordnance Board, 208; plan of, 
for reducing Sumter, 209. 

Hall, Lieut. Norman J. , in removal to 
Sumter, 91, 103, 106; mission of, to 
Moultrie, 1 18, 119; bears warning 
to Pickens of closing harbor, 189; 
accompanies envoy to Washington, 
195; plan of, for relief, rejected, 249; 
estimate by, of force for relief, 2S4; 
in the bombardment, 438; subsequent 
career of, 457. 

Hamilton, Maj. D. H., mission of, 
from Pickens to Buchanan, 81; inter- 
view of, with President. 83. 

Hamilton, Capt. (S. C. N. ), co-oper- 
ates in intercepting relief, 139. 

Hamilton, Lieut. L R., joins State 
service, 137. 

Hamilton, Lieut. J., joins State serv- 
ice, 137. 

Hammond, Senator James H., resigns, 

17. 

Harrington, George, quoted, 368. 

Hart, Sergt. Peter, in the bombard- 
ment, 432, 438. 

Hartstene, Capt. Henry J., accom- 
panies envoy to Sumter, 369, 370; 
believes relief of fort practicable, 372. 

Hayne, L W., at Secession Convention, 
47; envoy to Washington, 195, 
instructions to, 195, 196; at Wash- 
ington, requested to withhold letter 
to President, 218, 219; replies of, to 
Southern Senators, 2^0, 222; further 
instructions to, 222-225 ; sends letter 
to President, 226, substance of letter, 
227, 228; reply of, to President, 231 
-233, refused by President, 233; 
leaves Washington, 233. 

Holt, Joseph, denounces neutrality of 
Kentucky, 25; deprecates conces- 
sions to Commissioners, 149; becomes 
Secretary of War, 150; approves of 
Anderson's course, 25, 177, 205; 
replies, for Buchanan, to Southern 
Senators, 220. 221; reply of, to Pick- 
ens's envoy, 229-231; relieves Beau- 
regard of command, 276, 277; sends 
Anderson's estimate to Lincoln, 284, 



288; instructs Anderson as to floating 
battery, 293. 

Huger, Col. Benjamin, in charge of 
Charleston arsenal, 59; joins in 
request to issue arms, 76; pledged 
to not remove arms, 77; arsenal 
seized in his absence, 120. 

Humphill, Senator John, requests Pick- 
ens's envoy to withhold letter to Pres- 
ident, 218, 219, 221. 

Humphreys, Capt. F. C, accepts guard 
at arsenal, report, 120; protests 
against occupancy of arsenal, 121; 
surrenders under protest, 122. 

Hunter, Senator R. M. T., with Sena- 
tor Davis at President's, 144. tries 
to persuade President to withdraw 
Anderson, 159; conversations of, with 
Seward, 32^-324. 

Hunter, Capt. (U. S. N.), ordered to 
leave South Carolina, 134. 

Indian Trust bonds, abstraction of, 

history, 214, 215. 
Information, sources of, used for this 

volume, 459-463. 
Inglis, Chancellor J. A., at Secession 

Convention, 47; offers resolution of 

secession, 48; reads Ordinance of 

Secession, 53. 
Iverson, Senator A., requests Pickens's 

envoy to withhold letter to President, 

218, 219, 221. 

Jamison, Gen. D. F., president of 
Secession Convention, speech, 45; 
conveys demand for Sumter, 192, 
remarks of, to Anderson, 193, 194; 
remarks on supplies to f irt, 202; on 
S. C. Ordnance Board, 208. 

Johnson, Jr., Capt. J., ordered to patrol 
Charleston Harbor, 89; seizes Fort 
Johnson, 123. 

Johnson, Fort (Charleston), ceded to 
U. S. Government, 2; used as cover 
in removal from Moultrie, 102, 103, 
106; seized by State, 123; battery 
erected on, 136, 209; armament at, 
270, 279, 281 ; first gun fired from, 
on Sumter, 427. 

Jones, Gen. J., on S. C. Ordnance 
Board, 208. 

Keitt, Lawrence M., confers with 
Buchanan on reinforcements, 38, 39; 
statement of, to S. C. Convention, 40. 

K.eyes, Col. E. W., part taken by, at 
Fort Pickens, 410, 412. 

Lamon, Ward H., promises to remove 



48o 



INDEX. 



garrison from Sumter, 336, 374; au- 
thority of, repudiated, 337; visit of, 
to Sumter, 373; does not return, 
reasons, 338. 

Lane, Harriet, reported sailing of, with 
relief, 134, 137; destination of, not 
Charleston, 138; ordered to relief of 
Sumter, 404, 406; at Charleston, 
416-420. 

Laval, William, illegal grant to, of 
Sumter shoal, 4. 

Lee, Capt. Stephen D., conveys demand 
for Sumter, 422; notifies Anderson 
of immediate attack, 426; conveys 
Anderson's proposition to surrender, 
441. 

Legare, J. (engineer), enters State serv- 
ice, 136. 

Letters and despatches. - Anderson, 
Maj. R., to Adj. -Gen., Nov. 28, i860, 
64, 67; Dec. 2, 66; Dec. 16, 106; 
Dec. 22, 93; Dec. 28, 68; Jan. 6, 1861, 
126; Mar. 9, 281; Apr. 5, 391; Apr. 
6, 381; Apr. 8, 384, 386; to Beaure 
gard. Mar. 28, 1861, 303; Apr. II, 
423; Apr. 12, 425; to Cameron, 
Apr. 18, 1861, 449; to Floyd, Dec. 
27, i860, 145; to R. N. Gourdin, 
Dec. II, i860, 69; Dec. 27 and 29, 
128; to Pickens, Jan. 9, 1861, 188, 
190; Jan. II, 194; to his rector, Dec. 

19, i860, 70; to , Dec. 14, i85o, 

100. Beauregard, Gen. P., to An- 
derson, Mar. 26, 1861, 308; toS. W. 
Crawford, July 16, 1872, 279; to 
Walker, Mar. 8, 1861, 306. Black, 
Judge y., to Buchanan, Jan. 22, 
1861, 241; to Scott, Jan. 16, 1861, 
237. Blair, Montgomery , to Adams, 
Apr. 10, 1861, 365; to Lincoln, Mar. 

15, 1S61, 358. Buchanan, Pres., to 
Floyd, Dec. 30, i860, 151; to Griffin, 
June 14, 1862, 164; to Hayne, Feb, 
6, 1861, 228; 10 Pickens, Dec. 18, 
i860, 87; to Southern Senators, Jan. 
22, 1861, 220; to Slidell, Jan. 29, 
1861, 277; to Thompson, Jan. 9, 
1861,181; to Tyler, Feb. 22, 1861, 
274. Cameron, Simon, to Anderson, 
Apr. 4, 1861, 382; Apr. 20, 450; to 
Lincoln, Mar. 15, 1861, 354; to Vcd- 
ges, Jan. 21, 1861, 401. Campbell, 
y. A., to Historical Society, Dec. 

20, 1873, 326; to Seward, Apr. 20, 
1861, 344. Chase, Salmon, to Black, 
July 4, 1870, 367; to Lincoln, Mar. 

16, 1 86 1, 360; to Taft, Apr. 28, 
1 86 1, 366. Craig, Col., to Floyd, 
56. Crawford, M. y., to Pickens, 
Apr. I, 391; to Toombs, Mar. 1861, 



316. Davis, yefferson, to Pickens, 
Jan. 13, 1861, 263; Jan. 20, 265. 
Floyd, y. B., to Anderson, Dec. 21, 
i860, 75; Dec. 27, 145; to Buchanan, 
Dec, 29, i860, 150. Foster, Capt. 
y. G., to De Russy, Dec. 22, i860, 
97; to Totten. Apr. 8, 1861, 385; 
Mar. 6, 280; Mar. 31, 303. Gard- 
iner, Col. y. L., to Craig, Nov. 5, 
i860, 56. Gist, Gov., to Trescot, 
Nov. 29, i860, 31, 32. Hayne. I. 
IV., to Buchanan, Jan. 31, 1861, 
226; Feb. 7, 231. Holt, y., to An- 
derson, Jan. 10, 1861, 177; Jan. 13, 
205; Feb. 23, 293; to S. W. Craw- 
ford, 277. Lincoln, Pres., to Foote, 
411; to Fox, May i, 1861, 420; to 
Mercer, 4'o. Mjgrath, yiidge A., 
to Hayne, Jan. 26, 1861, 222. Meigs, 
AL C, to Seward, Apr. 5, 1861, 
414. Miles, W. P., Feb. 10, i<56i, 
262. Orr, y. L., to S. W. Crawford, 
Sept. 21, 1871, 148. Pettigrew, y. y., 
to Trescot, 78. Pickens, Gov., to 
Anderson, Jan. 11, 1861, 192; to 
Buchanan, Dec. 17, i860, 81; Jan. 
26, 1861, 222; to Cobb, Feb. 13, 
1861, 268; to Convention for Seces- 
sion, Dec. 28, i860, 125; toDeSaus- 
sure, Dec. 31, i860, 137; proclama- 
tion, Jan. I, 1861, 138; to Trescot, 
Dec. 20, i860, 84; Dec. 22, 142. 
Ripley, R., to Ferguson, Mar. 6, 
18&1, 305. Scott, IV., to Cameron, 
Mar. 15, 1861, 363; to Forney, Dec. 
15, 1852, 163. Sezvard, W. //., to 
Adams, Apr. 10, 1861, 348; to Lin- 
coln, Mar. 15, 1861, 348; Apr. I, 
319; to Porter, Apr. 6, 1861, 415. 
Slidell, y., to Buchanan, Jan. 27, 
j86i, 276. Thompson, y., to Black, 
Jan. 14, 1861, 178; to Buchanan, 
Jan. 8, 1861, 181; to Holt, Mar. 21, 
1 86 1, 181. Toombs, R., to Confed- 
erate Commissioners, Mar. 20, 1861, 
325; Mar. 28,334. Trescot, IV. H, 
to Gist. Nov. 16, i860. 30; to Pick- 
ens, Dec. 21, i860, 85. IVal/cer, 
L. P., to Beauregard, Ai:>r. 10. 1861, 
421; Apr. II, 424. Washington, 
L. Q., to Pickens, Jan. 8, 1861, 180; 
to Walker, Mar. 5, 1861, 304. IVig- 
fall, L. T., to Bonham, Jan. 2, 1861, 
150; to Pickens, Jan. 8, 1861, 180; 

Mar. 4, 304. to Trescot, Dec. 

19, 1S60, 77. 
Lincoln, President, election of, a blow 
to State-rights, 15; Gov. Brown's 
views of probable course of, 266; 
Southern opinions of, 304; anxiety 



INDEX. 



481 



of, as to Virginia Convention, 310; 
report of interview of, with Col. 
Baldwin, disputed, 311; reply of, to 
Virginia Convention, 312; Cabinet 
of' 317. 319. 320; pledged to evacu- 
ate Sumter, vacillation, 338; says 
Sumter must be provisioned, vacilla- 
tion on, 344; requests opinions of 
Cabinet on relief of Sumter, 347; 
orders reinforcement of Sumter, 365, 
reason, 368; sends Capt. Fox to 
Anderson, 369; pressed by war party, 
392; determination of, to provision 
Sumter, 396; undecided regarding 
Sumter, 402; his reasons for holding 
the fort, orders reinforcement of 
Fort Pickens, 403 ; orders expedition 
for Sumter, 404; endorses Meigs's 
plan for Fort Pickens, 410, person- 
ally directs expedition, 411, gratified 
at success,42o; tribute of, to Fox, 420. 
Louisiana passes Ordinance, seizes 
money in Mint, 257. 

McAlilley, State Senator, votes against 

Secession Convention, 16. 
McQueen, John, confers with Buchanan 
on reinforcements, 38, 39; advises 
Pickens to withdraw demand for 
Sumter, 84. 
Macedonian, sending of, to Sumter 
advised, 155, 239; for relieving Fort 
Pickens, 401. 
Magrath, Judge A. G., closes U. S. 
District Court, resigns office, address, 
13; results of his action, 15; previ- 
ous action of, as to co-operation, 14; 
at Secession Convention, 47, resolu- 
tion of, on Federal property, 50, 
member of committee, 52; conveys 
Pickens's demand for Sumter, 192, 
remarks, 193; instructions of, to 
Hayne, 222-225; report of, on Fed- 
eral property, 388; contradictory 
telegrams to, on reinforcing Sumter, 
^ 393' 394- 

Mallory, Senator S. R., requests Pick- 
ens's envoy to withhold letter to Presi- 
dent, 218, 219, 221; assures Federal 
Government Fort Pickens will not 
be attacked, 401. 
Manigault, Gen. G., on S. C. Ord- 
nance Board, 208; plan of, for reduc- 
ing Sumter, 209. 
Manning, John L., at Secession Con- 
vention, 46. 
Marshall, Charles H., refuses assistance 

for relief of Sumter, 404. 
Maynadier, Capt , directed by Floyd 
to supply Southern forts, 216. 



Meade, Second Lieut. R. K., detailed to 
Pinckney, 75; in removal to Sumter, 
103-105; leaves Pinckney, 114; es- 
timate by, of force for relief, 284; 
in bombardment, 430 ; subsequent 
career of, 450. 
Weans, J. H., at Secession Convention 

46. 
Meigs, Capt. M. C, plan of, for reliev- 
ing Fort Pickens, 407, 408, approved 
by Lincoln, 410; receives money 
for, 411, balance, 412; at Fort Pick- 
ens, 415. 
Mercer, Capt., detached from Pow- 
hatan, Lincoln's offer, 41c; pleased 
at President's action, 413; gives up 
command, 414. 
Mercury (Charleston), quoted, 292. 
Miles, William P., confers with Bu- 
chanan on reinforcements, 38, 39, 
statement to S. C. Convention, 40; 
on Foreign Committee of Conven- 
tion, 53; resolution of, to notify 
Government of Ordinance, 54; sent 
to Sumter during bombardment, 441. 
Moore, Gov. A. B., "no-compromise" 
despatch of, to Secession Conven- 
tion, 51. 
Morris Island, Charleston, battery 
erected on, 123; harbor light on, 
put out, 133; force landed on, 134; 
fires on Star of the West, 183; force 
and armament at, 303, 397. 
Moultrie, Fort, Charleston, ceded to U. 
S. Government, 2; description of, 4- 
7; defenseless condition of, in i86o, 
6; garrison of, believed in danger, 
38; proposed arming of workmen at, 
56, not carried out, 57; attempted 
renewal of stores at, results, 57-59; 
Anderson in command of, 59; lax 
discipline at, under Gardiner, 60; 
force at, under Anderson, 64; appro- 
priation for, 65; laborers lor, from 
Baltimore, 66; endangered by houses 
and sand-hills, 70, 100; arms received 
at, from arsenal, excitement on, 77; 
watched by guard boats, 88, 90, 97; 
progress of work at, 92-95; arma- 
ment and defenses of, 95, 98, 99; 
visitors to, excluded, 95 ; garrison of, 
prepare to leave, 102, means of trans- 
portation, 103, departure, 104-106, 
force left at, 106; material left at, 
destroyed, 106, 107; seizure of, 
ordered by State, 113, occupied by 
State troops, 116, 137, 138; activity 
at, 137; fires on Star of the IVes't, 
184; works at, restored, 210, des- 
cribed, 211, 303; force at (Mar. '61), 



482 



INDEX. 



305; at work bombarding, officers 
and batteries engaged, 427, 428, 435. 

Mount Pleasant, Charleston, armament 
at, 279; battery on, able to Nhell 
Sumter, 381. 

Mullins, W. S., urges Pickens to pre- 
vent Sumter's occupancy, 90. 

Nelson, Judge Samuel, opinion of, on 
coercion, 325, 326 ; advises Seward 
to recognize Commissioners, 327; 
withdraws from further negotiations, 

333- 
New Mexico, slavery in, permitted by 

" Crittenden Amendment," 256. 
New Orleans, money in Mint at, seized, 

257- 
North, people of, responsible for war, 
252; press of, on abandonment of 
Sumter, 309; Governors of, support 
Federal Ciovernment, 339. 

Ordinance of Secession, committee on, 
48; commission of, with copy to 
Washington, 52; text of, 53; passes 
Convention, 54. 

Orr, James L., at Secession Conven- 
tion, 46; commissioner to Washing- 
ton, 142. 

Parker, Adm. Sir P., repulse of, from 
Charleston in 1776 5. 

Pawnee, use of, in Fox's expedition, 
249; ordered to relief of Sumter, 404; 
at Charleston, 416-420 

Pettigrew, James, visits Moultrie, 95; 
thinks fort will be taken, 96. 

Pettigrew, Col. Johnson, commissioned 
to Anderson, 109, mission fruitless, 
III; ordered to occupy Pinckney, 
113. takes possession, 114. 

Pickens, Fort, no change to be made at, 
328, 331, 332; rumored relief for, 
3:9, 340; expedition for relief of, 
401, troops not landed, 401, 403; loss 
of, deemed certain by Totten, 402; 
Meigs's plan for reliet of, 407, Porter 
to command, expedition to be secret, 
409. Fozuhatan selected, 410, expen- 
ses, 411, balance, 412, expedition 
sails, 414, 415; relieved, 416. 

Pickens, Gov. Francis W., elected Gov- 
ernor, sketch, 79-81; demands pos 
sessionof Sumter, letter to Buchanan, 
81, withdraws letter, 84, 86; reply 
of, to Buchanan's proposi ion, 87; 
measures of, to jirevent occupancy 
of Sumter, 88; informed by spies of 
military movements, 89; pre?sure on, 
to seize forts, 89, 90; causes inspec- 
tion of Sumter, 90; requests Ander- 



son to leave Sumter, 1 1 1 ; orders of, 
to occupy forts, 113; grants protec- 
tion to non-combatants, permits re- 
moval of private effects, 117; seizes 
arsenal, 1 19-122; establishes batter- 
ies in harbor and along coast, 123, 
125; report of his actions to Conven- 
tion, 125; prohibits mails to Sumter, 
134; orders incoming vessels over- 
hauled, proclamation, 138; reinfoice- 
ment must be prevented, 138, 139; 
telegram of, to Floyd on reinforce- 
ments, 141 ; reply of, to threat to 
close harbor, 189; avows firing on 
Star of the West, 190; grants safe- 
guard to Anderson's messenger, 191; 
demands surrender of Sumter, 192, 
will await answer from Washington, 
194; sends envoy to President, 195, 
instructions to envoy, 196, 197; per- 
mits provisioning Sumter, 201 ; letter 
of, to envoy, reply to President, 222- 
225 ; renews demand for Sumter, 225; 
reply of, to Peace Convention com- 
missioner, 244; urges Confederate 
Government to appoint commander, 
248, 267; consults Sen. Davis as to 
Sumter, Davis's reply, 263-265; con- 
sults Gov. Brown, replies to Toombs, 
266; desires Confederate Gover; ment 
to take control, determines to attack, 
267; views of, of right of State to 
seize Sumter, 268; report of, on 
means of attack, 269, 270; isks in- 
structions of Confederate Govern- 
ment, 271; people angry at, for pro- 
visioning Sumter, 292; stops random 
firing m harbor, 377; reasons of, for 
seizing mails, 384. 

Pilots, of Charleston, refuse to pilot 
1 ederal vessels, 52; Board of, advise 
obstructing channel^, 137. 

Pinckney, Castle, description of, ceded 
to U. S. Government, 2; Maj. Porter 
thinks its occupancy unadvisable, 60; 
Anderson's request to occu;iy, re- 
fused, 62; laborers sent to, 75, 76; 
arms asked for, 76, received from 
arsenal, excitement on, 77, returned, 
78; work on, delayed, 96; Pickens 
orders seizure of, 1 13; seized, 114; 
State troops at, 137. 

Pocahontas, ordered to relief of Sumter, 
404; at Charleston. 416-420 

Porter, Lieut. David D., selected to 
connnand Fort Pickens expedition, 
409, his orders, 410; convinces Foote, 
412; takes command of ship, 414; 
sails, arrives at Fort Pickens, 415; 
object accomplished, 416. 



INDEX. 



48, 



Porter, Major Fitz-John, inspects Rowan, Commander, in Sumter relief 



Charleston forts, 59, report, thinks 
occupancy of Sumter and Pmckney 
unadvisable, 60. 

Powhatc.t, selected for relief of Sumter, 
405; chosen for Fort Pickens expedi- 
tion, 410; her condition, 412; quickly 
refitted, 413; sails, 414; arrives at 
Fort Pickens. 415. 

Prioleau, Charles K., presents Blakely 
gun to South Carolina, 397. 

Pry or, Roger A., warlike speech of, 
305 ; sent to Sumter during bombard- 
ment, 441; adventure of, at Sumter, 
442. 

Regiments: First U. S. Artillery (Col. 
Gardiner), 5; First S. C. Artillery 
(Lt -Col. De Saussure), 116; First 
S C. Rifles (Col. Pettigrew), 55; 
German Riflemen (,Capt. Small), 
121; Marion, S. C, Artillery ^Capt. 
King), 427; Meagher Guards, S. C., 
113, 114; Palmeito Guard (Capt. 
Cuthburt), 427, 429; Seventeenth S. 
C. Infantry (Col. Cunningham), 
121 ; Thirty-second S. C. Infintry 
(Col. Alston), 125; Union Light In- 
fantry (Capt. Ramsay), 122; Vigilant 
R fles, S. C. (Capt. Tucker), 123; 
Washington Light Infantry (Capt. 
Simonton), 19, 113, 114, 120. 

Republican party, rise of, 20; victory 
of, deemed temporary by Administra- 
tion, 22, 33. 

Reynolds, Jr., Lieut. G. N., joins State 
service, 137. 

Rhett, R. B., in Secession Conven- 
tion, 46; on Committee on Address, 
50; resolution of, to report Ordi- 
nance, 53; moves that forts be 
taken. 96. 

Rhett, Jr., Col. R. B., plan of, for 
taking Sumter, 89; urges Governor 
to prevent its occupancy, 90. 

Richardson, J. P., in Secession Con- 
vention, 46. 

Ripley, Col. Roswell S., succeeds De 
Saussure at Moultrie, 119; in bom- 
bardment of Sumter, 428, 439. 

Roberts, Marshall O., owner of Star 
of the West, 175. 

Robertson, Judge J., commissioner from 
Virginia to seceding States, 243: mis- 
sion of, in South Carolina fruitless, 
244-246. 

Roman, A. B., Confederate Commis- 
sioner to Washington, 314, instruc 



expedition, 417. 

Ruftin, , presents John Brown's 

pike to South Caro'ina, 18. 

Saussure, Gen. W. G. de, quoted, 4; 
at Secession Convention. 46; ordeied 
to occupy Sullivan's Island, 113; 
seizes Moultrie, 116, 137; reply of, 
to Anderson, 118; thinks Anderson's 
removal " consummate wisdom," re- 
lieved, 119; fires on 7?. B. Shannon, 
375. 379; suggests messenger to 
Sumter, 439. 

Schnierle, Gen., to overhaul incoming 
vessels, 138. 

Schaltze, Jackson S., proposals of, for 
relief expedition, 175. 

Scott, Gen. Winfield, assigns Ander- 
son to Moultrie, 60; character of, 
relations with ['resident, 162, 163; 
"Views" of, for new confederacies, 
163, 166; "Views" published un- 
known to President, 166; President's 
criticism on " Views," " Supplemen- 
tary Views," 167; recommends warn- 
ing forts, interview with Buchanan, 
168; burned in efligy, 169; plans of, 
for relieving Sumter, 169, 170; praises 
Anderson's action, 170; advises using 
Star of the West, 174; takes no 
ofiicial notice of Black's letter, 240; 
unjust strictures of, on President, 
250, 251; opinion of, on Anderson's 
estimate for relief, 346; estimate of, 
for relief, 347, 355 ; thinks surrender 
of Sumter inevitable, 363; advises 
evacuation of Fort Pickens, 363, 
365; recommends brevet for Ander- 
son, 370; action of, in relief of Fort 
Pickens, 408. 
Secession ot South Carolina advocated 
by Governor, 9, 10, by Boyce, Pugh, 
Bullock, Yancey, and others, 11, 14; 
popular endorsement of. 12,^48; de- 
cided by election of i860, 15; bill 
for Convention for, passed by Legis- 
lature, 16; views of Cabinet on, 22- 
25; certainty of, 33, 34; postpone- 
ment of Convention impossible, 35, 
assembles, 45; resolution for seces- 
sion jiassed, 48; Ordinance of Seces- 
^ sion, 53. 

Senators, Southern, request envoy to 
withhold letter to President, reasons, 
218, 219; correspondence sent to 
President, 220; reply of, to President, 
220, 221. 



tions to, 315; interview of, with Seward, William H., Secretary of State 
Baron Stoeckl, 334. I under Lincoln, 317; inclines to peace. 



484 



INDEX. 



abilities, 317, 318; policy of, 319; 
alters warning telegram to Confeder- 
acy, 320; his construction of Lincoln's 
inaugural, 321; remarks of, on recon- 
struction, 322; urges delay on Con- 
federate Commissioners, 323; rtfuses 
to recognize the Commissioners, 324, 
325> 327, 328, 342, 343; promises 
evacuation of Sumter, 328, 330, de- 
lay in, accidental, 331, vacillation of, 
as to evacuation, 337; memorandum 
of, to Commissioners, 341; will not 
recognize Confederacy, 342, 343; 
views of, on relief of Sumter, 348- 
353; thinks policy should be con- 
cihation, 350-353; action of, in relief 
of Fort Pickens, 407; in charge of 
secret-service fund, 411; order of, to 
hold Powhatmi, 415, 420. 

Seymour, Capt. Truman, attempts re- 
moval of ammunition to Moultrie, 57, 
58; arrested and released, 119, 136; 
sketches by, of works in harbor, 279, 
291 ; estimate by, of force for relief,284, 
355; improvises loaded barrels. 296; 
report of, on R. B. Shannon affair, 
37g; in bombardment, 431, 438; sub- 
sequent career of, 454. 

Shannon, R. B., fired on in Charleston 
harbor, 375-377. 

Sickles, Daniel E., insists on parade of 
2 2d February, 274. 

Simons, Gen. James, letter of, on Gov- 
ernment's pledge 40. 

Simonton, Capt. C. H., appointed to 
patrol harbor, 88. 

Slaves in South Carolina, stringent laws 
for, 17. 

Slemmer, Lieut. Adam J., commanding 
Fort Pickens, 401; asks assistance, 

415- 

Slidell, Senator John, thinks demand 
for Sumter unwise, 84; requests Pick- 
ens's envoy to withhold letter for 
President, 218, 219, 221; letter of, to 
President on Beauregard, 276. 

Snyder, Lieut. George W., assistant 
engineer at Charleston, 65, 97 ; in re- 
moval to Sumter, 103, 104; mission 
of, to Pickens, 117, 118; estimate by, 
of force for relief, 283 ; report of, on 
R. B. Shannon affair, 379; in bom- 
bardment, 432, 438, 439; subsequent 
career of, 452. 

South Carolina, United States Consti- 
tution supreme in, i ; cedes to United 
States Government Pinckney, Moul- 
trie, Johnson, 2, Sumter, 4; Legis- 
lature of, not consulted in erection of 
Sumter, 4; special session of Legisla- 



ture of, in i860, Governor and others 
advise secession, 9, 10, 1 1 ; people of, 
endorse secession, 12; resolution on 
secession by politicians of, 14; con- 
troversy of, with Federal Govern- 
ment foreseen, 14 ; election of 
i860 decisive of secession of, 
15 ; Legislature of, passes bill 
for Secession Convention, 16 ; se- 
cession of, inevitable, 33-35, 46; force 
not desired by, 35; people ot, certain 
to possess Federal property, 37; 
Congressmen of, protest against rein- 
forcements, 38; memorandum of, to 
President, 38, 39, results of Presi- 
dent's vacillation, 39, 40; Secession 
Convention of, opened, 45 ; previous 
Conventions of, 46; people of, unani- 
mous for secession, 48, 50; peace- 
able solution desired by, 5 1 ; proclaim- 
ed independent, popular enthusiasm 
thereat, 55; authorities of, demand 
enrollment of Moultrie laborers, re- 
fused, 67; popular demand in, for 
seizure of forts, 90; military men of, 
visit and inspect Moultrie, 95, 96; 
people of, called on to seize forts, 96; 
threats of, against forts, loo; mob 
action unknown in, loi ; erects bat- 
teries in Charleston Harbor, 123, 
127; officers of, obstruct channels in 
harbor, 137; authorities of, renew 
demand for Sumter, igi; activity of, 
on forts, 207, 209; Legislature ot, re- 
fuses Virginia's mediation, 245; part 
taken by, in Provisional Congress, 
261, 262; people of, clamor to at- 
tack Sumter, 269; authoriiies of, im- 
patient at delay in evacuating:, 336; 
people of, anxious to take Sumter, 
422. 

Stanton, Edwin M., Attorney-General 
under Buchanan, 149; deprecates 
concessions to South Carolina Com- 
missioners, 149; view of, of affairs, 160. 

Star of the West, reported sailing of, 
133; substituted for Brooklyn, charge 
for, plan, 175; force and material on, 
sails, 175; arrives at Charleston, 183; 
fired upon, 123, 183, 184; retires, 
184; firing on, an act of war, 205, 
206; Pickens'sview of attack on, 224. 

State-rights endangered by delaying 
secession, 1 1 ; doctrine of, undoubt- 
ed, 14; endangered by election of 
i860, 15; open assertion of, in South 
Carolina, 18. 

States, seceding, pass Ordinance of Se- 
cession, 257; Commissioners of, in 
Provisional Congress, 259. 



INDEX. 



485 



Stevens, Major P. F., ordered to Mor- 
ris Island, 123, 

Stoeckl, Baron, conversation of, with 
Seward, 334; says European powers 
will recognize Confederacy, 335. 

Sullivan's Island, Charleston, battery 
erected on, by State, 123; harbor 
lighten, put out, 133; new battery 
on, 302; dangerous battery on, un- 
masked, 382, 398. 

Sumter, Fort, description of, 2, 4; 
ceded to United States Government, 
4; Maj. Porter thinks occupancy of, 
unadvisable, 60; repair of, begun, 
appropriation for, 65; laborers for, 
from Baltimore, progress of w>.rk, 66; 
value of, 71; arms asked for, 76, re- 
ceived from arsenal, 77, returned, 
78; Pickens demands possession of, 
81, 82, withdraws demand, 84, 86; 
watched by guard-boats, 88, 90, 97; 
plans for taking, 88, 90; inspected by 
Pickens, 90, by Messrs. Winston and 
others, 91; men at, wear blue cock- 
ade, 94; progress of work on, 96; 
occupied by Anderson, 91, 102-I12; 
workmen at, leave, 108, 131, 204; 
supplies short at, 126, 129, 134, 136, 
203, 374; means of defense at, 131, 
134, 135, force, 132; mail service to, 
prohibited, 134; material needed at, 
135; various plans for relief of, 170; 
relief expedition for, starts, 139, 176, 
garrison receives unofficial notice, 
185, opinions in officers' council at, 
187. 188; surrender of, demanded, 
192; progress of armament at, 198- 
200; new mail facilities for, 200; sup- 
plies sent to, from Charleston, 201, 
returned, 202; supplies at, 211; men 
of, rudely treated, 204; garrison at, 
encouraged by Government, 206; 
women and children of, sent North, 
206, 207; plan adopted for reducing, 
209; new expedition for, contem- 
plated, 236; Judge Black's views on 
reinforcing, -37-239; false rumors as 
to attack on, 247 ; further plans for 
relieving, 248-251; affairs at, im- 
proved, 291 ; private property of men 
of, retained, 292; garrison despond- 
ent, fuel scarce, 295; fort further 
strengthened, 295-297, 299; mines 
laid at, 297 ; report of intended evac- 
uation of, 301, 308; communications 
with, prohibited, 313; provisioning of, 
conditional, 322; evacuation of, in- 
sisted on by Conlederacy, 324; Sew- 
ard promises evacuation of, 328, 330, 
331; rumored relief for, 339. 340, 
343; firing on, charged to Federal 



Government, 344; Cabinet opinions 
on relief of, 348-361; remforcement 
of, ordered, 365 ; mission of Capt. Fox 
to, 369-372; garrison of, packing up, 
373; no one allowed to leave, 375; 
officers of, divided as to reply to bat- 
teries, 376; garrison of, annoyed by 
revenue cutter, 380, 381; provisions 
to, stopped, relief promised, 382; new 
protection at, 383, 385, 386; mails 
of, seized, 383, 384; contradictory 
telegrams on reinforcing, 393, 394; 
force at (April, 1861), 397, 398; 
short rations at, preparations for de- 
fense, 398, 399; Totten on holding 
of, 402; military authorities advise 
no relief for, 402, 403; relief of, or- 
dered by Lincoln, 494, expedition 
sails and arrives, without a head, 
416, unsuccessful, 416-420; surren- 
der of, demanded, refused, 423, en- 
thusiasm of garrison, 424; bombard- 
ment begun, 418, 427; opposing 
batteries, 427-429; opens fire, 429; 
guns and officers engaged, 429, 430; 
cartridges short, men withdrawn 
from parapet, an accident, 431, 432; 
effect of firing on, 431-433; firing on, 
slackens, 432, renewed, 434; firing 
of, on Moultrie, quarters on fire, 
powder ordered destroyed, 435, 437, 
explosions of shells, magazine sealed 
by a shot, flag-staff shot away, 437; 
flag re-raised, 438; tiip to, of Col. 
Wigfall, 439, 440; flag lowered, 
white one raised, 441 ; condition of, 
after bombardment, 443-445; flag at, 
saluted by Anderson, fatal accident, 
446; State troops in possession of, 
garrison leave, 447; present condi- 
tion of, 457, 458. 

Talbot, Lieut. Theodore, bears mes- 
sage from Anderson to Washington, 
190, 191, return, 204; estimate by, 
of force for relief, 284; sent to Wash- 
ington with despatches, 376, 377; on 
mission from Cameron to Pickens, 
394; not allowed to communicate 
with Anderson, secret departure, 
395; career of, after Sumter, 455. 

Texas passes Ordinance of Secession, 
257. 

Thomas, Col. L., superintends relief 
expedition, 175. 

Thomas, Philip F., Secretary of Treas- 
ury under Buchanan, 37; advocates 
concessions to South Carolina Com- 
missioners, 149 

Thompson, Jacob, opinion by, of seces- 
sion, 23; opposes reinforcement of 



486 



INDEX. 



forts, 29; advocates concessions to 
South Carolina Commissioners, 149; 
feels bound to resign, correspondence 
with Southerners, 178; determines 
to send warning of expedition, 179, 
telegram withheld, 180; telegraphs 
personally, 180, criticisms on his ac- 
tion, 180. 181; resigns, 181; boasts 
of his action, 182. 

Toombs, Robert, urges Pickens to de- 
lay attack on Sumter, 266; remark of, 
on attempt to provision Sumter, 421. 

Totten, Gen. Joseph G., opinion of, on 
Anderson's estimate, 346; criticism 
of, on Fox's relief plan, 361, 362; on 
inadvisability of holding Sumter, 402. 

Toucey, Gov. Isaac, discredits seces- 
sion and Republican victory, 22; 
approves President's reply to South 
Carolina Commissioners, 149. 

Trapier, Col., plan of, for reducing 
Sumter, 209. 

Trescot, William H., describes feeling 
of Cabinet in i860, 20-24; views of, 
regarding reinforcement of forts, 26- 
28, his proposition on, 29, letter on, 
to Gist, 30; selected to convey Bu- 
chanan's message to Gist, 33; inter- 
views of, with Buchanan on rein- 
forcem<"nt, 34, 42; resigns office, 43; 
asks Pickens to withdraw demand 
for Sumter, 84, reasons, 85; be- 
comes agent for South Carolina, 140; 
Narrative of, quoted on pp. 21-24, 
26-35, 42, 43. 58, 83-85, 141, 142- 
144. 

Tucker, Capt., at Morris Island, 123. 

Twiggs, Gen. David E., asked for, by 
Pickens, 271; thanked by S. C. Con- 
vention, 390. 

Tyler, John, commissioner from Vir- 
ginia to President, 243; requests 
Pickens to delay attack, 246, 247. 

Tylor, Lieut. R. O., in Sumter relief 
expedition, 416, 418. 

United States, condition of, at close of 
Buchanan's administration, 282, 283, 
See under Government, Federal. 

Virginia, action of, condemned by 
South Carolina, 12; students in, 
hang General Scott in effigy, 169; 
General Assembly of, institutes Peace 
Convention, appoints commissioners, 
243, their interview with President, 
243. 2|4- 

Walker, I-eroy P. (Conf. Sec. War), 
letter of, to Pickens, 278; urges ac- 
tion by Beauregard, 306 ; reports 



intended succor of Sumter, sugges- 
tions as to mines, 307, 308; instructs 
Beauregard as to occupancy of Sum- 
ter, 308; lorbids provisioning Sum- 
ter, on calling out volunteers, 397; 
orders Beauregard to demand sur- 
render of Sumter, 421. 

War Department, Confederate — see 
under Walker. 

War Department, Federal— see under 
Fioyd, Holt. 

"War ol the Rebellion," quoted, 56, 
59, 150, 284, 305, 306, 308, 381, 430, 

439- 

Ward, Commander J. H., to command 
relief expedition, 248, 250; ready to 
sail, 283; plan of, abandoned, 347, 
354; Secretary Cameron's opinion 
of plan of, 356. 

Wardlaw, Chancellor (South Carolina), 
at Secession Convention, 47. 

Wardlaw, Judge D. L., at Secession 
Convention, 47. 

Washington, D. C, parade in, 22d 
February, 1861, countermanded, 273, 
allowed, 274. 

Washington, L. Q., sends warning of 
relief expedition, 180. 

Welles, Gideon, action of, in Fort Pick- 
ens expedition, 413, 414. 

Whig (Richmond), quoted, lOO. 

Whig party extinguished by slavery, 20. 

White, Colonel, plan of, for reducing 
Sumter, 209. 

Whiting, Captain W. H. C, report of, 
on Charleston defenses, 270; report 
of, distasteful to people. 272. 

Whitner, Judge, at Secession Conven- 
tion. 47. 

Wigfall, Senator Louis T , announces 
Anderson's movement, 143; reports 
appointment of Holt, 150; sends 
warning of relief expedition, 180; re- 
quests Pickens's envoy to withhold 
letter to President, 218, 219, 221; 
urges Pickens to prevent attack, 304 ; 
believes Sumter will be evacuated, 
307; starts recruiting in Baltimore, 
309; self-appointed mission of, to 
Sumter, 439, his conduct there, 440, 
his action unauthorized, 441. 

Withers, Judge, at Secession Conven- 
tion, 47. 

Woods, Lieut. C. R., commands relief 
expedition, 175. 

Wright, Capt. H. G., urges Capt. Fos- 
ter's request on Floyd, 99. 

Yulee, Senator D. L , requests Pick- 
ens's envoy to withhold letter to 
President, 218, 219, 221. 







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